Netflix will offer 27 original films from September to December, reaffirming movies as a pillar of its programming, including what seems a growing number with minor theatrical windows before streaming.
Some 11 of the 27 have a short exclusive cinema run (“in select theaters”), which is a growing phenomenon.
The movies run the gamut with adult dramas, romantic fare, family fare, comedies, animation, documentaries and foreign-language titles from its off-shore platforms. Most are in the mid-budget range with decent production values and name talent (nothing like the $165 million-200 million budgeted mafia drama “The Irishman” from Martin Scorsese in 2019). The current film slate is an affirmation of a Netflix commitment to movies, despite having shopped some unfinished projects to rivals in cost-cutting that gripped Hollywood in the past year. For now, Netflix isn’t making any more top-end-cost films.
Actors on the latest Netflix-scheduled titles include Jodie Foster, Sir Ben Kingsley Julia Roberts and Adam Sandler; and filmmakers Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Barack & Michelle Obama, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Zach Snyder. Movies include symphony conductor bio “Maestro” starring Bradley Cooper; actioner “The Killer” starring Michael Fassbender, Sylvester Stallone documentary “Sly”’ and daffy comedy animation with adult appeal “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.”
Most of its originals premiere (or “drop”) on Netflix on Fridays and Saturdays, indicating Netflix takes a weekend-film approach, matching the cinema business.
Netflix co-CEO and program czar Ted Sarandos said for years ago he’s not focused not theatrical, but slowly has been warming. “We’re in the business of entertaining our members with Netflix movies on Netflix,” Sarandos said on a recent corporate earnings call.
The thaw comes as Wall Street stock analysts felt Netflix left money on the table with the truncated November 2022 release of its original thriller mystery “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” starring Daniel Craig.
Official boxoffice was not reported, but it’s believed “Onion” grossed a decent $13 million in a five-day cinema run. “Onion” played at just 600 locations, not over a thousand for a wide theatrical-first release, which would also run weeks or months, not just five days.
It’s believed that Netflix agrees to truncated theatrical windows, in part, to placate Hollywood talent, which uniformly supports theatrical premieres. Cinema credits carry more prestige in Hollywood than TV projects. Theatricals also have a greater halo with consumers and garner more press attention than made-for-TV movies.
The current slate of 11 Netflix films is not expected to be wide and long-running enough to meaningfully offset gaps created by the writers and actors strikes in Hollywood. Those labor strikes disrupt theatrical releases as talent withholds publicity support for current premieres. A downstream impact will be feature-flow interruption as little filming is taking place to create movies for 2024 and beyond.
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