{"id":289455,"date":"2025-11-17T19:12:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T19:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/289455\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T19:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T19:12:08","slug":"vue-cinemas-boss-slams-imax-over-netflixs-exclusive-narnia-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/289455\/","title":{"rendered":"Vue Cinemas Boss Slams IMAX Over Netflix’s Exclusive Narnia Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe founder and CEO of Vue Entertainment, the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, has written a public letter attacking the controversial deal Imax<\/a> signed with Netflix<\/a> giving Greta Gerwig\u2019s upcoming \u201cNarnia<\/a>\u201d an exclusive two-week theatrical run on its screens.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the deal, first announced in January, led to reports of significant discontent from within the exhibition industry, the letter from Tim Richards \u2014\u00a0shared exclusively with Variety \u2014\u00a0marks the first time it\u2019s been expressed formally.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the letter, Richards asserts that both audiences and the industry itself will \u201close\u201d out from the deal and warns that Imax CEO Richard Gelfond\u2019s claims that he\u2019s looking to secure further exclusivity arrangements will be even more damaging.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt risks undermining the very ecosystem that makes theatrical success possible,\u201d he said, noting that Gerwig\u2019s \u201cBarbie\u201d managed to achieve its phenomenal box office success without a release on Imax (which he also claimed was \u201cno longer\u201d the most technically advanced Premium Large Format).<\/p>\n

\n\tRichards also referenced the \u201cnuclear option,\u201d raised by Gelfond to ensure his Narnia deal remained in place. This is understood to be a way of legally enforcing theaters to show \u201cNarnia\u201d on their Imax screens.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe industry should never try to convince audiences that there is only one way to enjoy a great film,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

\n\tSee the full letter from Tim Richards below:<\/p>\n

\n\tIMAX is proudly promoting its deal to screen The Chronicles of Narnia, Greta Gerwig\u2019s highly anticipated first feature film since Barbie, despite it being a Netflix production released under an unusual \u201c2 + 2\u201d model, just two weeks in IMAX theatres, followed by two dark weeks before being released to Netflix subscribers at home.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs a result, Narnia will not be watched by audiences on 99% of cinema screens worldwide. It will only play on IMAX screens owned by operators willing to break established theatrical release windows. Those who choose to respect the established theatrical release window, have been threatened by IMAX with a \u201cnuclear option\u201d if they do not play it.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe outcome? IMAX and Netflix may enjoy a short-term gain, but the industry and audiences around the world \u2014 will lose. Millions of families who would love to watch Narnia at a theatre, will be needlessly deprived of the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\n\tAll other premium large formats (PLFs), including Dolby Cinemas, Cinemark\u2019s XD screens and others, that consistently out-gross IMAX screens, will also be unable to show Narnia.<\/p>\n

\n\tIMAX has not only agreed to this restrictive model but appears to be encouraging other filmmakers to follow suit. In doing so, it risks undermining the very ecosystem that makes theatrical success possible.<\/p>\n

\n\tIMAX is one of many PLF options available to audiences globally. With less than 1% of screens worldwide, it is not singularly critical to the launch or success of any film \u2014 as proven by Barbie, which was not released in IMAX, yet went on to gross $1.5 billion and play theatrically around the world for several months. As Greta Gerwig stated \u201cIn my heart of hearts, I want audiences to see my movie in Dolby Vision with an [Dolby] Atmos mix because, to me, that\u2019s the way I\u2019ve most felt like\u2026.Ah! That\u2019s my movie!\u201c<\/p>\n

\n\tProjection and sound technologies have evolved dramatically in recent years. Dolby, Christie, and Barco\u2019s new HDR projectors all deliver market leading images, while Dolby Atmos, with its 64-channel immersive sound, remains the industry benchmark and filmmakers\u2019 first choice for audio.<\/p>\n

\n\tIMAX offers a strong product, but they are no longer the technological leaders they once were, and they represent a minority of the PLF box office market share globally. The industry can, and should, coexist by working collaboratively with our true partners, the studios, and by focusing on what matters most: delivering the very best experience for our customers. The industry should never try to convince audiences that there is only one way to enjoy a great film.<\/p>\n

\n\tTim Richards
Founder & CEO of Vue Entertainment and former Chair of the British Film Institute<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The founder and CEO of Vue Entertainment, the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, has written a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75,18268,83439,1316,131092],"class_list":["post-289455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-imax","tag-narnia","tag-netflix","tag-vue-cinemas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}