Netflix on Tuesday shared further details on its global theatrical release plans for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, unveiling that Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle international distribution for the global theatrical release.
“Netflix and Sony Pictures have a strong track record of partnership, including their landmark global pay-1 licensing deal under which SPE’s feature films stream on Netflix worldwide — an industry-first for pay-1 — following their full theatrical and home entertainment windows,” the streaming giant highlighted.
As THR previously reported, the film is set to be Netflix’s first wide theatrical release and first foray into releasing a movie into theaters exclusively for a minimum of 45 days. It was originally scheduled to be released exclusively on 1,000 Imax screens on Nov. 26, followed by a debut on Netflix on Dec. 25, but has previously been moved to 2027.
Netflix will handle domestic distribution for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, which will receive a wide release across North America. “The film will play in major theatrical chains, including AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Cineplex, Marcus and Harkins, along with thousands of regional and independent theaters,” the company said on Tuesday.
Written for the screen and directed by Gerwig, the origin story is the first-ever adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, originally published on May 2, 1955. The film pairs newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell with an all-star cast that includes Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, and more. Lewis’ series captured Gerwig’s imagination from a young age.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is produced by Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Vincent Sieber-Smith, and Greta Gerwig, and executive produced by Patricia Whitcher and Douglas Gresham and Melvin Adams for the C. S. Lewis Estate. The film is co-produced by Christine Crais.
Said Dan Lin, chairman of Netflix Film: “Greta’s Narnia is exactly the kind of bold, ambitious filmmaking we love to champion. While most of our films debut on Netflix, sometimes a film like this comes along and we can give the filmmaker a different canvas and fans a theatrical experience that complements its Netflix release. I can’t wait for people to discover Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, and then fall in love with it again and again streaming on Netflix.”
