Netflix‘s upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia movies have reportedly left theater chains and studios offended after reaching an unique cope with IMAX, with the movie firm readying a “nuclear choice” if chains resolve to not present the film.
What’s the subject between theater chains and Netflix’s Narnia film?
In a latest report from Puck, U.S. theater chains and movie studios have been left offended after IMAX and Netflix got here to a deal that noticed The Chronicles of Narnia getting a two-week exclusivity deal on IMAX screens when it premieres on Thanksgiving 2026.
The explanation, in keeping with Puck, is because of how numerous studios and chains had no thought the deal was taking place, and now worry that different motion pictures slated for the vacation 2026 calendar might be at risk of dropping out on releases.
Puck experiences that legacy studios and theater chains view Netflix as a “frequent enemy,” in keeping with one studio supply. Particularly, Disney was mentioned to be “particularly livid” in regards to the IMAX deal, with an insider noting that IMAX CEO Wealthy Gelfond “did this on his personal with out consulting any of his [studio] companions,” an insider mentioned. “They gave Netflix a two-week unique despite the fact that the opposite studios present motion pictures to them 52 weeks a 12 months.”
Puck’s report mentions that, theoretically, theater chains might resolve to refuse to play Greta Gerwig’s Narnia film on their IMAX screens when the time comes, and easily present different motion pictures. Nonetheless, the report mentions that IMAX has already thought of this, and that Gelfond has assured each Gerwig and people at Netflix that the corporate has a “nuclear choice” that can make sure that theaters cooperate and ebook the movie.
Simply what that nuclear choice is is unknown, as of now, though IMAX did say in an announcement to Puck that, beneath its agreements with theaters, the corporate “requires exhibitors to play the movies we format and program. Our skill to curate our programming is what makes us helpful to exhibitors, filmmakers, and studios, and delivers a return on funding with our theaters worldwide.”
(Supply: Puck)