Netflix Tried Killing Movie Theaters — Now It's Making A Bold Move That Could Save Them

In October 2016, former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings openly declared that movie theaters were "strangling the movie business." A few months earlier, Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos pronounced that "the old [theatrical] distribution models ... are bad for consumers. For me to withhold access to our 81 million subscribers, so that a couple hundred thousand ... literally a couple hundred people can see the movie in a theater, it makes no sense, business or otherwise." So began an endless deluge of critical comments from Netflix brass toward movie theaters. 

The streamer's hostile approach to multiplexes endured for years afterward, save for occasional exceptions like "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" making Netflix history with its big-screen release. Otherwise, Netflix has staunchly kept its original movies as small screen releases (aside from two-week theatrical runs to ensure they qualify for Oscars). As late as April 2025, Sarandos was still declaring movie theaters as "outdated." However, just as 2026's theatrical landscape has been thriving thanks to titles like "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" blowing everyone away at the box office, Netflix has suddenly changed its tune.

The streamer's forthcoming 2027 release "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" will get a traditional 51-day theatrical-exclusive run starting on February 12. How on Earth did this happen? And how could this shift in Netflix's business policies maybe help movie theaters in the long run? After being enemies for so long, Netflix and movie theaters could unite in a fascinating fashion just as multiplexes still need some help gaining stability.

A barrage of overrated Netflix film originals you should completely avoid reflect the problems this streamer has faced in trying to launch super successful motion pictures. While "KPop Demon Hunters" was an obvious phenomenon, most of Netflix's other cinematic exploits (which have all gone straight to the small screen) have failed to gain much cultural traction. Expensive titles like "The Electric State," "Bright," and "The Gray Man" (among many others) didn't inspire quotes people exchange constantly or unforgettable costumes folks recreate all the time for cosplay exploits. Instead, they've largely faded away from people's minds.

Compare that to recent hits from streamers like Apple's "F1" and Amazon's "Project Hail Mary" that blew everyone away at the box office. Thanks to their respective theatrical releases, people are way more aware of their existence than "Heart of Stone" or "The School for Good and Evil." Theatrical releases and the massive marketing campaigns leading up to their debuts are valuable in putting movies on people's radars. Throwing out expensive movies that emulate past theatrical hits isn't a recipe for immediate success. Otherwise, "6 Underground" would've taken the country by storm.

It would seem dipping their toes into the theatrical release ecosystem could be a way to counter that. Plus, Netflix keeps losing high-profile movies like "Wuthering Heights" over refusing to do theatrical releases. Backtracking on that even a smidge could help the streamer gain more clout with major names.

While the first few months of 2026 have shown the theatrical ecosystem in a state of welcome rebound and financial prosperousness, the box office is still down from 2019 and other pre-COVID years. Events like October 2025 hitting a three-decade low in box office revenue are largely due to the fewer number of sizable movies being made, especially by major studios. Netflix even just throwing a handful of its new movies into traditional theatrical releases could provide a welcome balm to this problem. While studios like Disney are having a rough time at the box office, potentially lucrative Netflix titles could pick up the slack.

More importantly than anything, though, Netflix's release strategy for "Narnia" is a major win for movie theaters simply because it reflects their enduring importance. Even the company that's long maintained that theatrical exhibition is "outdated" is coming around to giving major releases weeks of theatrical exclusivity. If Netflix is launching titles on the big screen, then this must still be a valuable way to release and experience movies. Given all the turmoil movie theaters have experienced in the 2020s, that reaffirmation is valuable.

Only time will tell if Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" is a one-off or a sign of greater theatrical release commitment from Netflix. For now, though, it's a fascinating about-face from the streamer and a great reminder of how important movie theaters are.