IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond is confident Greta Gerwig\u2019s first Narnia film will be a major event and says Netflix is treating it like one.<\/p>\n
Appearing on The Town with Matt Belloni,<\/a> Gelfond spoke about the project\u2019s ambition, scope, and secrecy, teasing behind-the-scenes details that haven\u2019t been made known yet.<\/p>\n I know a lot more about this movie than has been made public. The story, the way it\u2019s being filmed, the distribution pattern, the way Greta is leaning into it, [\u2026] I think Netflix is really excited about this project.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Netflix or IMAX hasn\u2019t shared details about its marketing campaign yet, but Gelfond said the studio plans to promote the film like a major theatrical event. Host Matt Belloni noted that this approach was an important part of Gerwig\u2019s deal: \u201cShe got that in her deal\u2014that they had to market it in the same way they would market a theatrical release.\u201d<\/p>\n Netflix\u2019s current plan includes a limited two-week exclusive run <\/a>in IMAX theaters, followed by a release on the streaming platform around Christmas 2026. However, there has been some hesitation from theatre chains <\/a>about participating in the rollout because of its limited window and Netflix\u2019s streaming-first model. Belloni pointed out that Regal Cinemas CEO Eduardo Acuna, would not commit to playing the film in Regal locations.<\/p>\n Gelfond downplayed the concern, saying Acuna had privately expressed openness to the project. \u201cEven Eduardo told me personally, \u2018I haven\u2019t decided. I\u2019m not against playing it,\u2019\u201d Gelfond said. He remained optimistic that Narnia will win over exhibitors once more details are revealed.<\/p>\n Once it\u2019s unveiled what this looks like, how it\u2019s going to be, I think people are going to line up to be part of it. I think anybody who isn\u2019t a part of it is going to miss out in a significant way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Belloni described the rollout as an \u201cinteresting experiment\u201d for Netflix, similar to its 2022 release<\/a> of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which had a very limited one-week theatrical run before debuting on the platform. Gelfond agreed, highlighting the benefits of using IMAX to generate buzz. <\/p>\n You\u2019re talking about Narnia today\u2026 It\u2019s over a year away. Lots of people are talking about Narnia. [\u2026] It\u2019s going to create an event and that\u2019s what IMAX does\u2014create events. And it\u2019s not just one movie, as you know, it\u2019s a series.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n At the same time, Gelfond acknowledged that Netflix is keeping many aspects of the film under wraps: \u201c[\u2026] people don\u2019t know the scope of it, the story, and I have insight into some of that,\u201d he said, refusing to offer specifics. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to dial 1-800-Greta to get that one.\u201d<\/p>\n The lack of clarity around the production, specifically around the rumoured casting<\/a> of Aslan, has been a sore spot for many fans. Netflix has yet to comment on any casting, production timeline, or even confirm which book will be adapted first. As we previously reported, filming on The Magician\u2019s Nephew is expected to begin soon, with location shooting<\/a> planned for September. <\/p>\n When do you think Netflix will finally kick off their marketing rollout for Narnia? What do you make of their lack of approach so far?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond is confident Greta Gerwig\u2019s first Narnia film will be a major event and says…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[77,3943,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-308731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114952482738660592","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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