Good news for any of you fine folks who like watchin' gorgeous flicks on a big old screen. In a shift away from Netflix’s previous anti-theatrical run stance, the streaming service announced that three of its biggest awards contenders, original filmsRoma,The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, andBird Boxwill premiere exclusively in theaters before hitting the stream-screen.
“There’s been an overwhelming response to all of our films this festival season, including ‘Outlaw King,’ which will be in theaters and onNetflixnext week, and this plan is building on that momentum. Netflix’s priority is our members and our filmmakers, and we are constantly innovating to serve them,” Netflix’s film chiefScott StubertoldVariety.
Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white dramaRomais getting the longest theatrical run, playing in select theaters in Mexico, New York, and Los Angeles beginning November 21 before it hits Netflix on December 14. The film, Cuarón’s first since the multi-Oscar-winningGravityin 2013, is pretty much a lock for several Academy nominees this year.In his review, Collider’s own Adam Chitwood hailed the drama as “impeccable filmmaking on a grand scale.”
The journey of theCoen Brothers’Ballad of Buster Scruggsto this moment has been a wild one; the anthology Western film was originally announced as the directing duo’s first foray into television, before ultimatelymorphing into a feature length filmat Netflix.Buster Scruggs—which has been hit withlukewarm-ish mixed reviewsso far—will receive a limited, one-week theatrical run starting November 8 before expanding globally in select US and European cities and premiering on Netflix on November 16.
DirectorSusanne Bier’sBird Box—a post-apocalyptic survival starringSandra Bullock,based on the novel byJosh Malerman—will get a theatrical run in New York, London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles starting December 13 before hitting Netflix on December 21.
