Theaters and Studios Push Back Against Netflix’s IMAX Narnia Deal
It’s been well over a month since Netflix and IMAX announced a two-week exclusive theatrical run for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia on over 1,000 IMAX screens worldwide starting Thanksgiving 2026—but the distribution saga has taken yet another twist.
According to Puck’s Kim Masters, legacy studios such as Disney, were frustrated that IMAX gave Netflix such a prime release window. “[IMAX] did this on his own without consulting any of his [studio] partners,” one insider said, “They gave Netflix a two-week exclusive even though the other studios provide movies to them 52 weeks a year.”
Disney, which has an untitled animated film slated for Thanksgiving 2026 — a historically lucrative slot for family films — was especially angered by the move.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest theater chains, including Regal and Cinemark, were reportedly caught off guard and are now threatening to refuse to play Narnia on their IMAX screens. While IMAX claims its agreements require theaters to show its curated films, exhibitors ultimately control their own bookings.
Why Theaters Are Hesitant to Embrace Netflix
This controversy ties into a larger issue that has frustrated theatre chains for years. Netflix’s reluctance to embrace traditional theatrical releases.
This has been a perplexing misdirection from Netflix in exhibitors’ minds for years. Exhibitors are kind of fed up with Netflix sticking their toe in the water and pulling back. Apple and Amazon have tried real theatrical runs, with mixed success. But they made a real attempt, and Netflix never has.”
Anonymous theater Executive
Despite hopes that the Narnia deal signaled a shift in Netflix’s strategy, Co-CEO Ted Sarandos quickly shut down that speculation, insisting the agreement represents “no change at all” to their distribution model. For now, AMC— home to the largest number of IMAX screens in the U.S. —appears to be on board. Masters speculates that other chains may eventually follow suit, especially if Narnia builds strong early buzz.
However, with pushback from legacy studios, resistance from theater chains, and nearly two years until release, Netflix’s IMAX plans may not be set in stone just yet.
Meanwhile, none of this impacts the film’s production. Pre-production is in full swing, casting underway, and filming expected to begin this July. Stay tuned to NarniaWeb as the story continues to unfold.
Sadly, disagreements over distribution deals such as this are nothing new in this day and age of online streaming.
Last year it was Tom Cruise getting upset at Christopher Nolan for block-booking all the IMAX screens and squeezing Mission Impossible out of the running. Before that Christopher Nolan had his own spat with Warner Bros’ plan to release all of their films day-and-date on HBO Max as well as theatres (a decision which ultimately caused Nolan to part ways with the studio) and ever since the pandemic the theatres have been getting mad at Disney for shortening their exclusivity windows so that they can get content onto Disney Plus quicker.
Overall, this sort of push-back was probably inevitable, and it will probably take a few more years until the cinema distribution model settles down into something which works more cohesively for all concerned.
If plans change, I hope it’s for a broader release. I’m talking 4000+ screens, so essentially a wide release.
Disney being upset over Narnia taking prime theatre slots over from them is hilarious to me. Karma for dropping Narnia a decade ago?
I mainly hope the dates don’t change, and that the release will still be as big or bigger!
“Narnia” belongs on the big screen & should be an exclusive wide theatrical movie release.
It’s a bit shabby to be fighting a turf war over a beautiful property like Narnia. Whatever happens, I hope Jack’s Narnia prevails!
I don’t blame these theaters for being mad at Netflix. I’ve been constantly annoyed at them for not putting more of their movies in theaters and limiting physical media and thus reducing the chances for non-subscribers to see their content. I’m just really curious how this is all going to play out, though with all the drama going on in the industry right now, this holds the lowest stakes for me.
“…Netflix’s IMAX plans may not be set in stone just yet.” This is a sad thought.
I guess a couple scenarios could play out. If Netflix’s IMAX plans happen, it will mean this Narnia movie gets to be seen on very large screens.
There is an IMAX in my (non-USA) city. But there is no guarantee it will show there, if only 1000 out of 1800 IMAX screens worldwide are signed up for Narnia (according to earlier Narniaweb reports). I wrote to my local IMAX’s staff, but they could not tell me if Narnia will show there. So will this affect me directly? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
I can be thankful that my friend from my church, who would also be interested in watching Gerwig’s movie, has a large HD projector in his living room. So it doesn’t have to be a small Netflix screen. But will Gerwig be able to film using IMAX cameras?
Another scenario could be that Netflix gives in, and permits a wider cinema release in normal screens. This would probably be a sign they would need to do this for way more movies. Which, for the consumer, would be a good thing.
Does anyone else immediately think of the stone table reading the phrase “set in stone” here? 🙂 Thank you, Narniaweb, for keeping tabs on things. I suspect there will be more jostling and readjusting before the dust settles and we finally know for sure what is going on with both the release information as well as the content of “Narnia” (which may just be a placeholder name for now). At least we know that something is, indeed, happening. I like to imagine Aslan roaring spectacularly and cutting through all of the red tape that productions entail. But, one can’t plot things out like that: he is not a tame lion!
Disney… complaining… about someone taking prime dates at theaters?!
Oh, that’s rich!
I still believe Narnia belongs on the big screen. Don’t mess this up Netflix!