Netflix Confirms How Long Warner Bros. Movies Will Play in Cinemas If The Deal Goes Through

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company plans to keep Warner Bros. movies in theaters if its $83 billion deal to buy the studio is completed. He told the New York Times on Friday that Netflix will allow a 45-day theatrical window for Warner Bros. films.

“When this deal closes, we will own a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars of theatrical revenue that we don’t want to put at risk. We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows,” Sarandos said. “I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.”

Sarandos admitted that Netflix’s assumptions about Warner Bros.’ movie business were wrong. “The general economics of the theatrical business were more positive than we had seen and we had modeled for ourselves. It’s a healthy, profitable business for them,” he said.

The proposed acquisition of Warner Bros.’ TV and film studios, along with HBO Max, has stirred concern in Hollywood. Cinema United, a theater trade group, told Congress that the deal could reduce the number of movies, lead to job losses, and cause theater closures.

Sarandos said he expected the criticism. “I think it was a lot of loud voices, but not necessarily a lot of them. I think a lot of it was folks who questioned, rightfully so, our intent with theatrical because we hadn’t said anything about it. A lot of it was the emotions around that more than anything else,” he explained.

The deal is not yet finalized, since Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, is trying a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Sarandos acknowledged Hollywood’s unease but said, “What people would like to see is no deal. But that’s not possible. There are two outcomes of this deal, and we have a signed deal done.”

Sarandos emphasized that Netflix is not against theaters. “We weren’t in that business not because we hated it. We weren’t in that business because our [streaming] business was doing so well,” he said.

Netflix has also benefited from special theatrical runs of its own content. Sarandos mentioned the New Year’s Eve screening of the “Stranger Things 5” finale and limited releases of “KPop Demon Hunters.” “You give people a reason to leave the house, they will gladly leave the house,” he said.

Last year, Sarandos sparked controversy when he called moviegoing “outmoded.” In the Times interview, he clarified that he meant it only for places without nearby theaters.

“You have to listen to that quote again. I said ‘outmoded for some.’ I mean, like the town that ‘Sinners’ is supposed to be set in does not have a movie theater there. For those folks, it’s certainly outmoded. You’re not going to get in the car and go to the next town to go see a movie. But my daughter lives in Manhattan. She could walk to six multiplexes, and she’s in the theaters twice a week. Not outmoded for her at all,” he said.

While Netflix plans to maintain Warner Bros.’ theatrical releases, Sarandos hinted that the company may shrink release windows over time to make them more “consumer-friendly.”

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