Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Paste Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
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Netflix planning to acquire Warner Bros., conversations have been directed at what this would mean for the theatrical industry, and a new report is very concerning. Netflix, when it chooses to release movies in cinemas, has historically done the bare minimum of a roughly two-week run in order to qualify select movies for awards consideration.
Now, Deadline reports that Netflix’s plans for theatrical runs after it merges with Warner Bros. still contrast with what major movie theater chains believe should be the standard: “Sources have told Deadline that Netflix have been proponents of a 17-day window which would steamroll the theatrical business, while circuits such as AMC believe the line needs to be held around 45 days.“
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos told the media, “There’s been a lot of talk about theatrical distribution, so we want to set the record straight: we are 100% committed to releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters with industry-standard windows.” However, as Deadline also says, “The town continues to worry what ‘traditional’ means for Netflix.“
Of course, a 17-day window would make it even more difficult for major titles to earn enough money to break even through ticket sales and prove that a theatrical release is still a viable business model. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is one of the biggest contributors to keeping the theatrical industry alive, with its streak of box office hits from 2025. Thus, Netflix’s plans could prevent this from happening again.
- founded
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January 16, 2007
- founders
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Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
