and Netflix were engaged in a cold war following the filmmaker’s larger-than-life vision for the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia adaptation with contentions surrounding the release strategy and turning the anticipation into a nail-biter. With the streaming giant’s release model threatening and undermining the film’s theatrical potential, Gerwig cited the material’s scope to emphasize and stand by the importance of a theatrical release.
While earlier reports speculated mitigation was in the works between the streamer and the filmmaker, recent ones finally confirm that Gerwig may have gotten just what she wanted with an IMAX release preceding the film’s streaming arrival.
Greta Gerwig’s Narnia for Netflix will grace the theaters first
According to a recent report by Puck News, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has
agreed to an exclusive IMAX release for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia
movie, based on C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books. The film will reportedly hit about 1,000 IMAX screens around the globe on Thanksgiving Day 2026, November 26.
Plus, Narnia
will not be released on Netflix until Christmas
, giving it a four-week window of theatrical run before its streaming debut, though IMAX has only guaranteed to play it for two weeks.
The third-week run in theaters will depend on demand with the likelihood of the film hitting some non-IMAX theaters before a Netflix release. Netflix has additionally added a key condition of identifying the movie as a “Netflix/IMAX”
title from the get-go. To top that off, Gerwig will reportedly use IMAX and regular cameras to cater to this dual release. While previous reports speculated a potential three-to-five weeks run
across 2000 IMAX screens, this new one comes with a confirmation.
What do you think of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia
for Netflix’s IMAX release before its streaming debut? Let us know in the comments below!
