How Greta Gerwig and IMAX Got Netflix to Flinch on ‘Narnia’ Release

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Netflix is cool with commercials now, but still not theaters. Well, unless it’s one of the two exhibition houses it owns: the Egyptian in Hollywood and the Paris in New York. But sometimes, you just have to give Greta Gerwig her way.

Around Christmas 2024, IMAX and Netflix struck a deal to distribute Gerwig’s upcoming “The Chronicles of Narnia” film adaptation exclusively on at least 1,000 (and as many as 1,800, depending on China) IMAX screens worldwide, one month ahead of the movie’s streaming premiere. After 2-3 weeks on IMAX screens — depending on IMAX’s desire to extend the run — Netflix has the optionality to place “Narnia” in regular theatres. Either way, “Narnia” debuts on Netflix on Christmas Day 2026.

  David Lynch attends a photocall during the 12th Rome Film Fest at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on November 4, 2017 in Rome, Italy.  (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

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The agreement was many months of negotiations in the making, a person with knowledge of the deal told IndieWire. Gerwig always had her sights on wanting an IMAX — not just theatrical — release for “Narnia.” Three or four months ago, Gerwig reached out to Gelfond to get the ball rolling on getting “Narnia” in IMAX, the individual said. The two spent weeks hammering out a plan — exclusivity window, length of engagement, and just generally how to approach Netflix. At that time, Gerwig’s agent and lawyer got involved. Together, they “narrowed” the issues with Netflix folk — the Netflix folk took it to co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria.

IMAX is able to tell its exhibitors what to program — “Narnia” would’ve been in no theaters if it didn’t get IMAX exclusivity — so that wasn’t much of an obstacle. A far-larger one was Netflix’s history — and past comments — getting in its own way. That took about a month to get past. “It was fairly complicated,” our source said.

Netflix film chief Dan Lin was in charge of working through the issues from the Netflix end, but it was Bajaria who really wanted to do this. Netflix hasn’t really been able to create franchises, even if it has had success on individual films, and saw this as an opportunity to make an event out of a film release. IMAX tends to be good at that.

‘The Chronicles of Narnia‘

The first big coup for IMAX is that “Narnia” will be marketed like any wide theatrical release, with the billing of a Netflix-IMAX production. Our source says that means both specific marketing in theaters and Netflix-directed marketing building up to the release date. The two sides have even agreed upon quantifying that marketing spend within certain ranges, according to the source.

It’s an almost unheard-of flinch from Netflix — almost. There is precedent here: Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story” played roughly 700 theaters, and so did “Red Notice,” and movies like “The Irishman” got a theatrical window of almost as long. But not only is this more screens, it’s IMAX, with a dedicated marketing push, and a guaranteed theatrical window, even with the chance of reaching China, a market Netflix doesn’t operate in. It’s a big flex for both sides.

However, IMAX and Netflix still have to work through the issue of reporting grosses. IMAX wants to and does on the regular — Netflix, not so much. That’s going to annoy some folks if Netflix continues to withhold box office data, but we bet that if it does even a fraction of “Barbie” numbers, Netflix will want to brag about it.

More importantly though, the “Narnia” pact could be a precedent-setting move in its own right — even if just for the coveted C.S. Lewis IP. There are seven “Narnia” books in all — ample opportunity for sequels (and sequels to the sequels). But our source says Netflix has already called IMAX about similar talks with other films. There’s no doubt other top Netflix talent will want the same deal Gerwig has.

And why wouldn’t they? IMAX and Netflix have recently played nice together. In December, “Interstellar” (2014) broke records for the top re-release ever on IMAX. Come January 1, 2025, it was the third most-watched film on Netflix in the U.S.

It may be because neither IMAX or Netflix really need this — both companies are doing very well, and the 2026 theatrical slate is already stacked. Between Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” new “Star Wars,” “Hunger Games,” and “Jumanji” films, Netfilx, “Narnia,” and Gerwig have their work cut out for them.

IndieWire has reached to Gerwig’s representatives for comment.

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