Noah Baumbach is leaving his streaming-only stretch behind. The Oscar-nominated writer-director has signed a three-year first-look feature deal with Warner Bros. that begins in 2027, ending a long exclusive pact at Netflix. His first project under the deal will be released theatrically by Clockwork, the Warner Bros. indie label run by former Neon executive Christian Parkes.
A theatrical reset for a filmmaker built by cinemas
Baumbach will write, direct and produce the untitled Clockwork film, with David Heyman and LuckyChap producing. Plot details are thin, but sources describe a story about two college students in New York City. The key business point is wider than the logline: this will be a wide theatrical release, his first since before his Netflix era began in 2021.
Since moving to Netflix, Baumbach’s last four films — “The Meyerowitz Stories,” “Marriage Story,” “White Noise” and “Jay Kelly” — premiered on the streaming service. For a director Variety describes as born and bred in the art house movie theater, the Warner Bros. arrangement is a structural return to the exhibition window, not just a new financing home.
Why Warner Bros. wants him now
The studio has a clear incentive. Baumbach co-wrote “Barbie” with Greta Gerwig, the biggest film in Warner Bros. history. Gerwig’s LuckyChap also holds a multi-year first-look deal at the studio, making the Baumbach signing part of a continuing relationship with the same producing orbit rather than a one-off talent grab.
Clockwork, still a young label, is assembling a slate that includes Sean Baker’s follow-up to “Anora” — an Italian sex comedy titled “Ti Amo!” set to film in January. Adding Baumbach gives the label an established theatrical auteur and a project that can anchor an awards-focused slate.
For ScreenStat readers, the deal is a useful signal in three ways:
- Talent flow: prestige filmmakers still value theatrical guarantees, even after multi-picture streaming deals.
- Studio strategy: Warners is using the Clockwork label to differentiate filmmaker-driven titles within a larger studio pipeline.
- Streaming context: Variety reported in early September that Netflix is increasing its commitment to meaningful theatrical releases and will report box office for six upcoming titles — so the theatrical window is becoming part of talent negotiations again.
What to watch
The real test is not the signing but the release plan. A wide theatrical commitment gives the untitled Baumbach film a different commercial profile from his Netflix titles, where viewership data was mostly private. For entertainment marketers and media planners, the Clockwork project will be one to track as a case study in whether a first-look deal can convert critical prestige into theatrical grosses.
Source: Variety
