Co-CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos has finally and officially agreed to an exclusive Imax run for Greta Gerwigit’s a big budget Narnia film, based on Chronicles of Narnia books by CS Lewis. Netflix tells me that the film will be released on approximately 1,000 Imax screens worldwide on Thanksgiving Day 2026 and will not appear on Netflix until Christmas. This represents a four-week worldwide exclusivity window, although Imax has only guaranteed the film to be shown for two weeks. A third week could be added depending on demand, and it’s possible the film could be shown in non-Imax theaters before its release on Netflix. Additionally, and this was a key concession, Netflix committed to marketing the Imax release as a typical film and theater name. Narnia as a “Netflix/Imax” title from the start. Gerwig will shoot the film using both Imax and regular cameras for the dual release.
An important and unprecedented agreement that has been in the works for months, negotiated mainly between the head of content at Netflix. Bela BajariaCEO of Imax Rich Gelfondand Gerwig and her team at UTA and the Johnson Shapiro law firm. Many stakeholders spoke up, including theater owners, who initially weren’t excited about the prospect of Imax theatrical exclusivity, but bought in once they realized the alternative was No theaters. But the big one Yes was from Sarandos, whose desire to appease a major filmmaker ultimately overrode his religious aversion to the multiplex (beyond the streamer’s symbolic qualifying and promotion runs).
