In the past, the Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos had even dismissed cinema as a “dated concept“, only to recant shortly after when he had to put on a brave face for a near‑completed Warner Bros. acquisition, before Paramount Skydance swooped in to snatch the deal away. At the moment the streaming giant remains tied to limited theatrical distribution for a few distinctive original features, but the theatrical window is lengthening, and Variety has now uncovered another important symbolic step by Netflix toward acknowledging a growing interest in the cinematic experience.
[Top photo by Ink, Danny Boyle]
Netflix will officially reveal the box-office earnings of its theatrical releases
The case of La bola negra, starring Glenn Close and Penélope Cruz, which won the Cannes 2026 Best Director prize for Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, is emblematic, according to Variety: acquired by Netflix for the U.S. market, it will enjoy the widest theatrical window ever granted by the streamer, a full 46 days, before it lands on the platform. This isn’t an unusual occurrence, because in 2027 we can expect 50 days for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (due in February) and 47 for Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory. At the same time, Netflix will begin to reveal the box-office receipts of selected theatrical releases, something that previously had never been done directly, making the in‑theater commercial results for the aforementioned Narnia, Charlie, and La bola negra transparent, but also for The Adventures of Cliff Booth by David Fincher, Mosquito Bowl by Peter Berg, and Ink by Danny Boyle. The reticence, as one would expect, stemmed from not wanting to confuse audience perception, because the company remains focused on home streaming. However, something is changing, perhaps also to take advantage of an atmosphere that has begun to smile on cinema: the summer of 2026 brought the American market back to pre-Covid levels, thanks to the triumphs of Odyssey and Spider-Man Brand New Day. An executive at another studio, among Variety’s sources, summed up the situation this way: “The real question is: what does Netflix want to do now? After nearly buying Warner Bros. Discovery, you really get the sense that toothpaste won’t be as easy to squeeze back into the tube.”
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