A leak has sprung in the dike which is Netflix’s long-held position on not giving their new movies to theatres for the traditional 45-day exclusive run before they become available on the streaming platform. Late Friday, Netflix announced that it will release NARNIA: A MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW from Director Gretta Gerwig in theatres on February 12, 2026 and remain exclusively there for 49 days before it appears on Netflix on April 2. In other words, Netflix will be giving audiences the full opportunity to experience this high-profile and expensive blockbuster on the big screen before rewatching it at home.
Outside the halls of Netflix, most of the movie industry has lobbied the streamer to consider using traditional theatrical distribution as a way to build buzz around their biggest movies. The creative community of actors and filmmakers, Hollywood’s awards organizations, and movie theatre circuits have all maintained that the pinnacle of movie enjoyment can only be experienced by watching a new release in a well-appointed, modern movie theatre alongside fellow moviegoers. The depth of this sentiment and the cost to Netflix’s reputation within the industry was made evident during its aborted attempt to acquire Warner Bros. earlier this year. At that time, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos pledged that if Netflix were successful in acquiring the studio he would honor the traditional 45-day theatrical release window for Warner Bros. productions. Last month, Sarandos attended for the first time the annual CinemaCon conference of movie theatre owners in Las Vegas to discuss the potential for increased partnering with exhibitors on upcoming releases. Lo and behold, one month later Netflix has now announced its first wide theatrical release ever. Perhaps, both moviegoers and theatre owners will be able to enjoy the fruits of this change in strategy.
