Well, that didn’t take long — Netflix's Narnia reboot is breaking streaming records
Narnia: The Magician's Nephew reportedly comes with an eye-watering price tag — enough to put it among Netflix’s priciest films.
Well, here's one for the record books: Netflix is doubling down on blockbuster fantasy with what looks set to be their most lavish project yet. The company's been steadily spending bigger on originals each year, shoving aside its streaming rivals (and frankly, outspending most of Hollywood at this point), and now all eyes are on their new headline-grabbing gamble — The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew. If you'd assumed the fantasy adaption trend had peaked, well, Netflix appears determined to prove you wrong.
The Magician's Nephew will get a theatrical and IMAX run for 45 days worldwide, a first for Netflix.
If you're into industry numbers, let's set the table: Netflix previously splashed $320 million on the Russo brothers' sci-fi picture The Electric State (yes, you read that figure correctly), leapfrogging both Scorsese's The Irishman and splashy action flicks like Red Notice and The Gray Man. All three looked pricey until now. Enter the new challenger — with Seamus McGarvey, the film's Director of Photography, letting slip on a podcast that the upcoming Narnia film is working with an extraordinary $280 million budget. No one at Netflix is trying to keep this one humble.
What makes this adaptation particularly ambitious isn't just its eye-watering spend. Here's the unusual bit: For the first time in the company's history, Netflix will give a movie a 45-day theatrical and IMAX run worldwide before streaming it. Rather than sending The Magician's Nephew straight to living rooms, the platform is tossing it into the cinematic deep end first.
The Electric State still holds Netflix's price record for now, but this new Narnia outing is breathing down its neck (and will surely top some fantasy spending charts either way). The logic behind this move? Netflix fancies clawing some of that cash back through box office receipts. The plan: cinemas and IMAX on 12 February 2027, streaming worldwide from 2 April 2027. Hopes are clearly sky-high for this one.
All-Star Cast and Crew
This is Greta Gerwig's first big step after Barbie, and she's not skimping on talent. Daniel Craig leads a cast stacked with star power: Meryl Streep, Emma Mackey, and Carey Mulligan are all signed up for Narnian duty. The story itself is Lewis's 1955 prequel, so they're taking on the mythic origin of Narnia — expect magical woods, accidentally unleashed ancient evils, and everything else you'd want from a proper escape into another world. At a guess, it’ll run a little less pink than Barbie.
- Director: Greta Gerwig
- Lead Cast: Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan
- Based on: The 1955 C.S. Lewis prequel novel
- Theatrical Release: 12 February 2027
- Netflix Streaming Release: 2 April 2027
- Budget: $280 million
There's also some talk of reshoots going on, though at this size and scale, that seems almost inevitable. The ambition doesn't stop at a single film either; apparently, Netflix wants to turn this into a massive eight-film franchise. It's clear that Narnia isn't meant to be a one-and-done test run, but the cornerstone of the company's attempt at a decade-spanning fantasy universe — provided audiences show up the first time around.