Two of North America’s largest exhibitors are passing on The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, the Brad Pitt sequel written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher. The result: AMC is the only major chain set to carry the film in Imax when it opens on Nov. 25.
Cinemark and Regal made the call rather than meet what Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble described as a very short Netflix release window. The film shifts to Netflix on Dec. 23, and Gamble said the proposed window would end two weeks before that date.
The precedent is the problem
Gamble told analysts on Tuesday’s third-quarter earnings call that Cinemark books films case by case and looks at long-term industry dynamics.
“We don’t believe the proposed release model is constructive for the broader theatrical ecosystem,” Gamble said.
The concern is not one movie; it is what accepting a compressed Imax window could mean for every future negotiation over premium screens.
The numbers
- Nov. 25: Cliff Booth opens theatrically.
- Dec. 23: The film hits Netflix.
- $1.05 billion: Cinemark quarterly revenue, up from $857.5 million a year earlier.
Cinemark can afford the stand. It kept The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on its Imax screens through Thanksgiving, citing strong advance sales.
What it means for the industry
This is Netflix’s first Imax release, so the refusal is a signal that a streamer’s biggest title cannot automatically command premium screens if terms undercut the theatrical window. Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew had originally been slated for the slot, but it moved to February with a seven-week window.
For entertainment marketers, losing two chains shrinks a premium-format marketing beat and reduces the opening footprint that drives per-capita box office. For streaming advertisers, the Dec. 23 date puts the film inside Netflix’s fourth-quarter viewership window, with theatrical buzz working as an upper-funnel push.
Gamble expects windows to widen, not shrink. Commitments already run a minimum of 45 days, many larger films run 60-plus days, and he sees further expansion as more studios join into 2027.
For now, AMC’s Imax run is the test case. Its performance will shape the next round of Netflix theatrical negotiations.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
