Only a few female actresses have the kind of smooth
and spectacular transition from the acting chair to the director’s shoes that Greta Gerwig happily enjoys. After delivering
some heart-touching works in Ladybird and the classic and
critically acclaimed Little Women, Gerwig introduced the world to her
take on Barbie. Shattering records and making the
pink history of the biggest 2023 movie, Gerwig is now ready to bring another classic to life, the Narnia movies, with IMAX this Thanksgiving.
But IMAX’s CEO has some bold words to share on the
upcoming movies before they ultimately settle down for good on Netflix.
Box office success for Narnia is not IMAX’s ultimate goal
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After its November release, Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia will
only get a two-week window at the box office for collection before it goes over
to Netflix. IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond, who is currently at the Cannes
Film Festival, Paris, addressed this matter
during a luncheon
and press conference, Deadline reports. As per the CEO, IMAX is not concerned about the difference between moviegoers’ demands and those of Netflix subscribers. “We’re quite confident that won’t matter,” said Gelfond.
Gelfond feels that IMAX is so differentiated from the
streaming experience that they have no worries about it. Speaking on the difference
between IMAX cinema lovers and streaming services, Rich Gelfond
explained that Netflix
is in a different business, and that is selling subscriptions. In structuring
the deal, they try to accommodate how to meet the needs of both parties. The CEO also
feels that PVOD at 17 days does not really hurt the IMAX box office. This might be a disappointment for Greta Gerwig, who fought hard for the theatrical release.
A visionary in
possession of extreme talent, Greta Gerwig has had to fight to win the box office
rights before the movie went to Netflix.
Greta Gerwig’s long fight with Netflix for IMAX release
Some time
ago, tensions were high as Netflix was engaged in a cold war with Greta Gerwig,
who had a larger-than-life vision for the Chronicles of Narnia. For this
adaptation, she cited the material’s scope to emphasize and stand by the
importance of a theatrical release and fought tooth and nail. After a long back-and-forth between the director and the platform, Ted Sarandos finally agreed to an exclusive IMAX release. But they had a major condition as
and asked to tag the movie as a “Netflix/IMAX” title from the get-go.
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After the release on November 26, 2025, Chronicles of Narnia in the format across 1,000 auditoriums in 90 countries, the movie will make its streaming debut on Netflix this Christmas. The
third-week theaters run will depend on the demand of the film hitting some non-IMAX
theaters before going to Netflix, something that even Rich Gelfond said
in the luncheon, that “we
have the option to extend the run.” But it all depends on the response of the
audience. The Chronicles of Narnia have long made news for the difference
between Gerwig and Netflix for multiple reasons, but this small theatre window could still be a bummer for Gerwig.
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What are your thoughts on Narnia’s limited run on the
box office and its eventual Netflix arrival? Share with us below.
