Netflix has spent years keeping its theatrical grosses close to the vest, but that curtain is finally lifting.
“The exhibitors would absolutely welcome this. Imagine if Netflix of all places threw its weight behind a real theatrical marketing campaign, and not some awards play,” an unnamed veteran distributor told Variety, which first reported the decision.
Deadline confirmed Tuesday that Netflix will publicly report grosses for six upcoming movies: LA BOLA NEGRA, THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH, THE MOSQUITO BOWL, INK, NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW and CHARLIE VS. THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. The move will replace industry guesswork with official totals for those releases.
That may sound like an accounting tweak, but the receipts help theater owners, rival studios and talent gauge what audiences will leave home to see. Deadline described the decision as a signal that Netflix wants the theatrical business to take its plans more seriously.
Netflix’s old approach created some strange weekends. In August 2025, Deadline estimated that KPOP DEMON HUNTERS SING-ALONG earned $19.2 million across two days and handed Netflix its first No. 1 box-office finish, yet the streamer never issued an official total.
Short release windows also kept some Netflix movies out of the biggest chains. TheWrap reported that the company’s new willingness to share grosses and give select titles more time in theaters has begun thawing a historically tense relationship with exhibitors.
Related: Greta Gerwig’s NARNIA Deviates From the Books … Again
The title likely to interest families most is writer-director Greta Gerwig’s NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW. Netflix says the C.S. Lewis adaptation will open globally in theaters and IMAX on Feb. 12, 2027, after IMAX previews on Feb. 10, and arrive on Netflix April 2.
Gerwig’s movie will bring Lewis’s creation story to the screen for the first time, with David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell leading a cast that includes Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig and Meryl Streep. The C.S. Lewis Company praised Gerwig for approaching the author’s world with joy, heart and genuine love for the story.
A box-office total cannot tell families whether the adaptation handles Lewis’ Christian imagination faithfully. It can show whether audiences still want to encounter Narnia together, on a screen large enough to make Aslan’s world feel wonderfully bigger than the living room.
Netflix will test the waters sooner with director David Fincher’s THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH. The Brad Pitt movie will begin an exclusive two-week global IMAX run Nov. 25 before reaching Netflix Dec. 23.
The rest of the experiment stretches into 2027. Peter Berg’s THE MOSQUITO BOWL opens in select theaters Oct. 30 before streaming Nov. 25, while Danny Boyle’s INK enters select theaters Dec. 11 and reaches Netflix Jan. 8.
Netflix Animation Studios’ CHARLIE VS. THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will open wide around the world Nov. 5, 2027, then stream Dec. 22. Trade reports say LA BOLA NEGRA will begin the company’s new reporting practice this fall.
The six-title plan stops well short of a company-wide theatrical conversion; Netflix still sees streaming as its main business. Even so, theater owners and audiences will finally get something they have rarely received from Netflix: a clear look at the scoreboard.
Read Next: 7 Ways We’re Challenging Netflix to Honor This C.S. Lewis Adaptation
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