Netflix is settling for a limited theatrical run for Scorsese’s The Irishman

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Over the years, Netflix has come to better terms with theater owners in order to give their movies theatrical runs before hitting their streaming platform, mostly in the name of awards contention. Some in the industry believed the streaming service’s latest venture – THE IRISHMAN from director Martin Scorsese – would have the best shot yet at getting a major, wide release before hitting the streaming platform, but unfortunately, that won’t be the case. After a deal could not be reached between Netflix and exhibitors, the movie will only be getting a limited theatrical run for a little over three weeks.

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News is that talks between Netflix and major theater chains like AMC, Regal and Cineplex broke down after a deal couldn’t be made regarding the length of time the movie would run on the big screens before hitting the digital streaming market. The typical release pattern chains agree on with other studios is a 90-day window, even though it's usually within the first month that most movies make a majority of – if not all of – their money. Netflix isn’t one to let that fly as they like to get their content to subscribers quickly, and at the end of the day, the service is settling for a limited theatrical run of 26 days, across an unknown number of indie theaters, starting on November 1 before hitting the platform on November 27. The movie will have its premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 27.

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In terms of the Oscar contenders Netflix has had in its arsenal over the years, Scorsese’s movie has had by far the most attention paid to it prior to its release. In development for years and enlisting the talent of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and more, the story centers on mob hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, who claims to have had something to do with the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. Between the director, the cast and the story that's just about the gold standard when it comes to gangster cinema. That fact made many believe theater chains would be more willing to work with Netflix on figuring out the right release window — and though it appears that was the case for some time — those negotiations are apparently over. 

Aside from the cast, the movie is notable for having a production budget said to be between $175-$200 million, given the effects that are going into de-aging the actors for scenes that take place in the past. With a wider theatrical release, the odds of making that money back were greater, but with the plan for a smaller run, it begs the question of how Netflix intends to recoup the cost. 

As Netflix has tried to break into the awards game over the years, they’ve softened on their release strategy for their “Oscar hopefuls”, the most successful of which was last year’s ROMA. The movie debuted at the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews, and the movie was then given an awards-qualifying, 23-day theatrical release before hitting Netflix. The movie was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning for Best Director (Alfonso Cuaron), Best Cinematography (Cuaron) and Best Foreign Language Film.

While theater chains are going to have to start becoming more relaxed on their release-window standard, this is evidence there's a long way to go before streaming platforms like Netflix can find the right ground. Given the amount of content out there the only movies that do well beyond the 30-day mark are the big blockbusters like AVENGERS and THE LION KING, and even in the former's case, the movie made $792 million of its current $858 million domestic total by day 30 (May 25). We shouldn't be surprised Netflix couldn't come to better terms with theater chains just yet, but it seems there was a genuine effort from both parties to figure something out. I guess we will be having these talks again in another year when Netflix has another project they care enough to put in theaters. 

THE IRISHMAN will hit select theaters starting November 1 and will then go onto Netflix on November 27.