‘The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth’ Locks In a Massive Global IMAX Release Despite Theater Chain Pushback

Netflix has spent years keeping its biggest movies mostly off the big screen, so a Brad Pitt, David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino team-up landing in theaters is a major moment. The streamer’s theatrical experiment has not been smooth, though, and the road to ‘The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth’ hitting IMAX screens has come with a few detours. Now the final map of theaters is taking shape, and it’s bigger than some expected.

The film, written by Tarantino and directed by Fincher, follows Pitt’s Oscar-winning stuntman Cliff Booth in 1977, 8 years after the events of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ It will play in IMAX theaters globally for an exclusive 2-week run starting November 25, before arriving on Netflix on December 23. The runtime is 2 hours and 21 minutes.

The IMAX rollout has now been confirmed at over 500 locations worldwide. The United States leads with 219 locations, just over 40% of the total, and AMC accounts for most of the domestic footprint with 187 venues. Chains such as ODEON, UCI and Finnkino add more locations overseas.

That puts the film in a wide range of countries, including markets across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. For Netflix, it’s another sign of its growing interest in theatrical events, even if the window is short.

Over 500 IMAX locations globally are now confirmed for THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH. (Full map and list: https://t.co/21FHFXlelN) https://t.co/Po7apYcsox

— What’s on Netflix (@whatonnetflix) November 2, 2026

The rollout is smaller than Netflix originally envisioned. Regal and Cinemark declined to play the film on their IMAX screens, which cuts out about 100 Regal screens and roughly 20 Cinemark ones. Some smaller chains have reportedly passed as well.

The decision comes down to the calendar and the window. Regal said it assigns premium screens partly based on how committed studios are to theatrical exclusivity, and a streaming debut just a month later undercuts that. The chains are expected to prioritize ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,’ which opens November 20 and is expected to be the No. 1 movie over Thanksgiving.

Normally, IMAX dictates which titles play on its screens and theaters don’t have much say. In this case, IMAX came aboard as a partner late in the game, so it allowed chains to opt out. That flexibility gave Regal and Cinemark room to stick with their existing ‘Hunger Games’ plans.

The theatrical release itself was something of a late addition. Reports indicate that Fincher wasn’t particularly interested in theatrical distribution in the first place, and the plan only materialized because of the delay of ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.’ Netflix ended up taking over that film’s slot on the calendar.

The first trailer for David Fincher’s ‘THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH’ has been released. In IMAX theaters on November 25. https://t.co/x16hpaVyMi

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 21, 2026

Reports describe the film as following Booth as a Hollywood studio fixer, doing odd jobs and dangerous favors in a very different Los Angeles. The ensemble includes Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Peter Weller, Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino and Timothy Olyphant, who returns from the original. It’s also Pitt’s fourth collaboration with Fincher, following ‘Se7en,’ ‘Fight Club’ and ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.’

The project grew out of a script Tarantino wrote for what would have been his tenth and final film. He passed directing duties to Fincher after feeling unenthused about helming it, and has said he was pleased that Fincher wanted to adapt his work. The budget has been reported at $200 million, including a reported $20 million fee for Tarantino’s script.

Netflix has other theatrical releases on deck, including ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,’ which is slated for a wide release for almost 50 days. ‘The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth’ is shaping up as a test of how far the streamer can push in cinemas without giving exhibitors the long windows they want. A strong turnout over Thanksgiving could strengthen its hand, while a soft one would reinforce the skeptics.

For fans, the practical takeaway is simple: if you want to see Pitt and Fincher on the largest screen available, you will need to find an AMC or one of the participating independent theaters. It is a smaller canvas than Netflix first imagined, but still a rare opportunity to see a streaming original in IMAX.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!