Greta Gerwig’s 'Narnia' Movie For Netflix Getting 2026 IMAX Theatrical Release
Samberg, Parns, you up for a Lazy Sunday 3?
Turns out Netflix is okay with theatrical IMAX magic after all. Greta Gerwig’s first of two The Chronicles of Narnia movies will arrive on the streamer on Christmas Day 2026. But before that, it will be released in theaters, specifically on 1,000 IMAX screens all over the world on Thanksgiving Day (November 26) for a special two-week engagement. The announcement was made Friday.
Going up against it will be Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (the film version of an installment in the book series that hasn’t released yet) and an untitled Warner Bros. event title, with November 20 release dates that put the Narnia film still in their first week paths. Opening on the Wednesday (against the Narnia preview screenings) is what else but a yet-to-be-announced Walt Disney Animation slot. They’ve been squatting there for decades, even if they put Pixar in the spot instead. And after a Thanksgiving 2024 that featured Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator II, with grosses ranging from ~$500 million to $1 billion, studios and exhibitors would certainly want to chase a repeat of it. Or better. Again (hey there’s still 2025).
The film was born from Netflix’s 2018 multi-year deal with the C.S. Lewis Company to produce not only films but multiple television series based on the author’s books. Gerwig signed on in 2020, coming off of both Lady Bird and the newest iteration of Little Women. In the time since, she made the megahit Barbie, which with a $1.44 billion gross is Warner Bros.’s highest-grossing movie ever and boosting her in-demand status extremely high. Nothing definite has been said as to whether Narnia could expand nor whether they plan to report their grosses like their weekly global viewership. An even wider release is something that Gerwig has been prying for a while. It’s their first major theatrical try since the highly criticized under-900 theaters release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and prior to that had done one in their original film infancy, back in 2016 with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. They also were involved in a small June 2019 IMAX run of Paul Thomas Anderson’s musical short Anima. IMAX also worked with Apple for the wide theatrical releases for Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon that were otherwise exclusive to Apple TV+.
An excerpt of the release reads “The partnership underscores the value of IMAX as a global event platform and reinforces its relationships with the world’s greatest filmmakers. It also demonstrates Imax’s commitment to bringing unique events and experiences to its fans and exhibition partners around the world.” Mark Gordan, Douglas Gresham, and Vincent Sieber are currently set to serve as executive producers on not only this film but any further and as producers on any upcoming Narnia shows.
Source: Deadline