Posted in: Movies, Netflix | Tagged: the chronicles of narnia

Chronicles of Narnia: Shorter Theatrical Window & IMAX's Expectations

Netflix's The Chronicles of Narnia is getting a 28-day theatrical window and a two-week IMAX run, and IMAX has reasonable expectations for that release.

Netflix and its relationship with the theatrical market is a weird one, to say the least. While studios like Amazon and Apple are making the push to try and get into theaters more, Netflix is still holding back and only giving a select few films very limited theatrical runs. For now, they are still bringing in top-tier talent, but eventually, that talent will demand some sort of theatrical release if Netflix wants their film. And with the release of The Chronicles of Narnia, they might have a leg to stand on. Not only is the film getting a 28-day theatrical release window, but it's also getting a two-week run in IMAX theaters. This is very different from anything we've seen from Netflix in the past, but IMAX doesn't seem too worried about it. At Cannes (via Deadline), they confirmed that The Odyssey would be shot entirely on IMAX film camera, and now IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond is saying he's not at all worried about the 28-day window impact on the IMAX run of the film.

"Imax is so differentiated from the streaming experience," said Gelfond. "I don't think we're concerned that the streaming window is going to cannibalize." Gelfond doesn't seem worried that demands from movie goers and Netflix subscribers will be an issue, saying, "We're quite confident that won't matter."

Even when Netflix is approaching a massive project like The Chronicles of Narnia, it seems they aren't going to change how they go about business because a project is much more in line with what we expect from traditional movie studios. "[Netflix is] in a different business, and that is selling subscriptions. In structuring the deal, we tried to accommodate how to meet their needs and how to meet our needs," said Gelfond.

Gelfond is approaching this deal with the same mindset as a film that goes to PVOD quickly after release."PVOD at 17 days hasn't really hurt the IMAX box office," Gelfond said. "I don't think people think those are competitive things." This is true. The people who are going to see movies in IMAX are a different audience from a group that would buy a movie on PVOD or watch something on streaming. They are looking for an entirely different experience, one that IMAX can uniquely provide. Look no further than the Nolan re-releases. The Chronicles of Narnia has the potential to really shake up the entire industry in a couple of different ways.

The Chronicles of Narnia And Adapting "Foundational" Pieces Of Media

Several book series are considered "foundational" when it comes to genres, and The Chronicles of Narnia is absolutely one of those book series. Between 2005 and 2010, three of the books were adapted to the big screen with pretty decent results. The books aren't massive the way that Dune is, so there wasn't a need to cut too much out, and they all have pretty definitive beginnings, middles, and endings, making them pretty ripe for adaptation. However, like all media involving children, the passage of time, delays, and dwindling box office returns got in the way of future movies.

Netflix acquired the rights to make more films and television series based on the books back in 2018, but it took quite a while for the streaming service to get anything off of the ground. Following the massive success of Barbie, it was pretty clear that director Greta Gerwig could do anything she wanted, but she signed on to do The Chronicles of Narnia for Netflix. The last time we heard about the production, they wanted to start production in 2024, but unless that happened while no one was looking, that didn't quite happen. We also don't know how Netflix is planning to adapt these books either. Much like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, when you're doing a franchise where your cast is children, you are on a very strict timetable, or things start to get weird regarding aging. See all the jokes about the final season of Stranger Things. The first film will get an exclusive IMAX theatrical run during the Thanksgiving 2026 weekend, all launched on Netflix in December. Recently, it was reported that Emma Mackey had joined the cast as Jadis, the White Witch.

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