Netflix has postponed "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" from a Thanksgiving release to February 12, 2027, expanding what was once a limited Imax-only run into a wide global theatrical debut — a significant escalation of the streamer's relationship with movie theaters.
The company said exclusive Imax previews will begin February 10, 2027, two days ahead of the broad worldwide opening. The film will not be available on the Netflix platform until April 2, 2027 — a theatrical window of roughly seven weeks, well beyond what the company had originally planned.
Netflix had previously announced that "The Magician's Nephew" would play exclusively on Imax screens for at least two weeks before a Christmas streaming debut. The revised plan represents a substantially longer and wider commitment to the traditional theatrical model.
Imax released a statement welcoming the change, noting that the delay would allow the film to have "a full theatrical window" — language that signals alignment with the major theater chains, which have long pushed streaming services to honor standard exclusivity periods.
AMC Theatres recently highlighted the performance of its "Stranger Things" finale screenings on its screens and indicated it has plans for further collaborations with Netflix, reinforcing that the relationship between the streamer and exhibitors is continuing to develop.
At the same time, Netflix's historically limited support for theatrical windows has proven contentious. The streamer's stance was reportedly a dealbreaker in negotiations with the creators of "Stranger Things," who ultimately signed an exclusive deal with Paramount.
"The Magician's Nephew" is directed and written by Greta Gerwig, marking her first feature since "Barbie." The film adapts the C.S. Lewis prequel that details the origins of Narnia and stars Daniel Craig and Meryl Streep. In Netflix's announcement, Gerwig said she first read the book as a child, when she "fell in love with the gorgeously improbable but completely brilliant concept of a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia to life."
The release shift comes as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences separately moved to codify new eligibility rules governing the use of generative artificial intelligence in films competing for Oscar consideration.
The academy said on Friday that only performances "credited in the film's legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent" will be eligible for Academy Awards. Screenplays must also be "human-authored" to qualify. The academy added that it reserves the right to request additional documentation about a film's AI usage and "human authorship."
The rule changes arrive against a backdrop of growing industry tension over AI's role in production. An independent film featuring an AI-generated version of Val Kilmer is currently in development, while an AI "actress" named Tilly Norwood has attracted sustained media attention. AI was also a central issue in the actors' and writers' strikes in 2023.
Beyond film, at least one novel has been pulled by its publisher over apparent AI use, and other writers' organizations have moved to make AI-generated work ineligible for their own awards programs.
For Netflix, the expanded theatrical commitment on "The Magician's Nephew" will test whether the company can translate its streaming audience into consistent box-office returns — and whether a longer window can become standard practice rather than an exception.