Here's when Netflix's awards hopefuls will hit theaters ahead of streaming
Streaming giant Netflix is taking its awards season strategy to theaters for another consecutive year.
To qualify for Academy Awards consideration, the digital-focused company will release its most prominent fall movie titles — those likeliest to gain traction in the Oscar race ahead — to theaters well ahead of the respective titles’ planned streaming debut dates, meaning you can watch films like Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, and Craig Brewer’s Dolemite Is My Name on the big screen before you attempt to watch them, uh, on your phone.
Last year, Netflix’s film chief Scott Stuber said the brand’s “priority is our members and our filmmakers,” and that members will “benefit from having the best quality films from world class filmmakers, and our filmmakers benefit by being able to share their artistry with the largest possible audience in over 190 countries worldwide” thanks to the theatrical push.
The initiative also ensures Netflix’s awards hopefuls are eligible for Oscar consideration. Academy rules currently require prospective feature films to run for one week in Los Angeles area theater to qualify for a Best Picture nomination. Last year, Netflix bolstered the streaming releases of films like Roma, Bird Box, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs with theatrical runs — eventually pushing Roma to hundreds of screens across the country before it won filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón Oscars for cinematography and directing.
Until Roma, Netflix had yet to receive a nomination for Best Picture. The streaming giant has clashed with major exhibitors and film festivals over its digitally-focused rollout in the past, previously backing out of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival after the French cinema event announced it wouldn’t host screenings for films that didn’t commit to screenings in French theaters.
Read on to see when Netflix’s upcoming high-profile releases will be released in American theaters in the weeks ahead.
Dolemite Is My Name
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Wesley Snipes
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Theatrical release date: Now playing in limited release
Netflix streaming date: Oct. 25
The King
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Robert Pattinson, Ben Mendelsohn, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp
Directed by: David Michôd
Theatrical release date: Now playing in limited release
Netflix streaming date: Nov. 1
Earthquake Bird
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Riley Keough, Naoki Kobayashi, Jack Huston
Directed by: Wash Westmoreland
Theatrical release date: Nov. 1
Netflix streaming date: Nov. 15
The Irishman
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Ray Romano, Jesse Plemons
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Theatrical release date: Nov. 1 (limited)
Netflix streaming date: Nov. 27
Marriage Story
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Merritt Wever, Julie Hagerty, Azhy Robertson, Mark O’Brien
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Theatrical release date: Nov. 6 (limited)
Netflix streaming date: Dec. 6
The Two Popes
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
Theatrical release date: Nov. 27 (limited)
Netflix streaming date: Dec. 20
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