Netflix Draws the Line: Directors Who Demand Theatrical Releases Need Not Apply

If you fancy yourself a hotshot film director who insists your masterpiece belongs in the cinema, you might want to skip Netflix for your next pitch. Netflix's new films boss, Dan Lin, has drawn a line in the sand: directors who demand big-screen releases need not apply.

Netflix's Take on Theatrical Releases: Not Bothered

In an interview with The New York Times, Dan Lin made Netflix's priorities crystal clear. In his words:

'There is a group of filmmakers who still want theatrical. Those are filmmakers that we have accepted we just won't work with.'

No sugar-coating there. Lin's openly admitting that Netflix's door is closed to directors adamant about the traditional cinema run. Not exactly shocking, but refreshingly blunt. There's one lone exception to this rule – Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" is apparently getting a proper theatrical release. Everything else will be staying firmly in the Netflix ecosystem.

What Netflix Wants Instead: Mid-Budget, Proper Variety

Lin's job, he says, is a bit unlike his counterparts over at regular studios. He can't shape the entire film line-up to his personal taste (which, to be fair, is probably for the best – nobody wants a monoculture). But he can set the way projects get made and how deals with filmmakers work:

'I can impose a way of making movies. I can impose a way of how we want to work with filmmakers. I think people on the outside are pretty clear on what I am going for: making someone's favorite movie in a specific genre, focusing on variety and quality and making Netflix the best place for filmmakers to work.'

Translation: he wants a broad mix – comedies, rom-coms, book adaptations, all manner of stuff you can watch from your sofa, mostly without the eye-watering budgets of Hollywood tentpoles. Netflix is after quantity and variety, not a couple of massive events a year.

Why Netflix Sticks To Streaming-First

There's a logic here. Netflix is a streaming service through and through – its entire business is built around people logging in and watching at home. Every film funnelled off into cinemas is one less hook keeping subscribers signed up. And let’s face it, cinema releases are a gamble even at the best of times. Mid-tier projects that don’t break the bank make a lot more sense if your main goal is to keep subscribers entertained, not flog tickets.

• Netflix will actively avoid working with directors who insist on a cinematic run.
• Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew is the one upcoming film they're sending to cinemas – the exception, not the rule.
• The focus is on variety and quality within modest budgets – more comedies, romances, book adaptations.
• Budget risk is a key concern: Netflix has no appetite for "all or nothing" theatrical gambles.

One Possible Fallout: Netflix May Shut Out Big Names

There's an obvious downside here. If you only want to work with directors who are happy skipping cinemas, you're potentially sending some big-name talent packing. The blockbuster directors who want to see their vision on the largest screen possible? They'll need to take their scripts elsewhere. Lin sounds dead set on not making more exceptions after Gerwig’s Narnia. How long that hard line holds is anyone’s guess.