Dan Lin, chairman of Netflix film, opened up about the streamer’s decision to give Greta Gerwig‘s Narnia movie a wide theatrical release in a new profile with The New York Times, assuring the outlet that the move was an “exception” and not a hint at its future rollout strategy.
Lin joined Netflix in April 2024, taking over the reins from Scott Stuber, who shifted the streaming service into the blockbuster space. When discussing the Barbie director’s upcoming Narnia film, the Netflix film boss told the Times that he knows there are directors and filmmakers who value theatrical releases that the company will not be able to work with.
“There is a group of filmmakers who still want theatrical,” Lin said. “Those are filmmakers that we’ve accepted we just won’t work with.”
Gerwig’s adaptation of the fantasy novel was originally slated to be released in Imax theaters on Thanksgiving before arriving on Netflix on Christmas Day. However, in May, the streamer revealed that the film will release on Feb. 12, 2027, and later go to Netflix on April 2, 2027, marking its first film to have a traditional theatrical release.
Netflix’s theatrical strategy, or lack thereof, was a major point of contention when the streamer was in the running to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Before the streaming giant dropped out of the bidding war, leaving Paramount as the winner, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that Warner Bros. films would have the standard 45-day theatrical window.
