Netflix has reached a historic deal with the theater chains AMC, Regal, and Cinemark.
For the first time since the company’s founding, one of its original films will be released in actual physical theaters.
Movie-goers will have the opportunity to see the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery starring Daniel Craig, at one of 600 locations across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand.
The theaters will be hosted by AMC, Regal, and Cinemark for one week only. As a part of this new marketing plan to “preview” original films in theaters, Netflix has chosen Thanksgiving weekend as the release date (November 23 to November 29). This is precisely one month prior to the release of the film on the streaming platform: December 23.
Netflix acquired the rights for the Knives Out sequels (2 & 3) last spring and has since been in production. This new marketing move comes on the heels of the streaming giant losing nearly 1 million subscribers over the summer – their greatest loss in a single quarter in the company’s history. The company’s first response to combat this was to lay off 450 employees and add a new cost-effective subscription with ads, similar to their competitor Hulu.
Netflix is hoping that the teaser of their new film in theaters will drive new subscribers to the platform. Adam Aron, chairman and CEO of AMC Theaters, commented on the upcoming partnership: “This announcement of our first-ever agreement with Netflix is significant for AMC and for movie lovers around the world.”
“As we have often said, we believe that both theatrical exhibitors and streamers can continue to co-exist successfully,” he continued. “Thanks to the larger cultural resonance those movies can gain from a theatrical release, they will wind up playing to a wider audience when they also are viewed on streaming platforms.”
The partnership is a shift for all parties involved. Back in 2014, AMC, Regal, and Cinemark had boycotted Netflix and declined the opportunity to show the platform’s first original film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend. This refusal was repeated in 2019 when Netflix once again reached out to AMC and Regal in hopes of showing their new original film Roma, which was ultimately nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Despite all four companies being competitors at one point, downturns in business have seen them joining together with this new collaborative approach. The change of heart for theaters could also be due in part to Netflix’s original films receiving public acclaim at the Oscars, both as nominees and winners, these past few years.
The original Knives Out was not a Netflix product, but it did well at the box office. The film was made on a $40 million budget and brought in $311.6 million globally, making it a massive theatrical release success.
