While the world waits to see if it will Barbie 2 will ever come true, the director and co-writer behind it a billion dollar sensation quietly making power moves in other cinematic realms. We’ve known that for a while Greta Gerwig leads the way Netflix’s Chronicles of Narnia reboot, but a new report reveals that the CS Lewis adaptation will get an IMAX showcase before it hits the streamer.
According to Puck NewsGerwig Narnia the film “will hit approximately 1,000 IMAX screens worldwide on Thanksgiving 2026 and will not appear on Netflix until Christmas,” with a guaranteed two-week IMAX run and the option to add a third if there is enough audience interest. Also, “there is a chance” Narnia it could also play in some non-IMAX theaters before its streaming debut. In addition, “Netflix has committed to market the IMAX release like a typical marquee theatrical film and to identify Narnia as a ‘Netflix/IMAX’ title from the start.”
Puck reports that the deal came about despite Netflix’s well-known penchant for not showing its films in theaters—unless said showing is in order to garner award nominations—because co-CEO Ted Sarandos understood the importance of “appeasing” Oscar-nominated Gerwig, whose movies except Barbie include Little Women and Lady Bird. She is also the co-writer of Disney’s upcoming live action Snow White.
The publisher points out that 1,000 IMAX screens over two weeks is a wider and longer release than a similarly high-profile Netflix production—Rian Johnson Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery— taken back in 2022, and one wonders if perhaps more big-name directors will follow Gerwig’s example and push Netflix for similar deals. (You have to assume fans certainly wouldn’t mind a similar release strategy for Guillermo del Toro Frankensteinwhich should appear on the streamer at some point this year.)
Are you excited to see Gerwig’s Narnia on the big, big screen in 2026 — or will you wait a few more weeks to stream it on Netflix?
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