{"id":276495,"date":"2025-11-07T03:58:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T03:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/276495\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T03:58:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T03:58:12","slug":"zach-cregger-sci-fi-movie-the-flood-stalled-at-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/276495\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Cregger Sci-Fi Movie The Flood Stalled at Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next film from \u201cWeapons\u201d filmmaker Zach Cregger, sci-fi original \u201cThe Flood,\u201d has stalled at Netflix over the streamer\u2019s refusal to give the movie a theatrical release, TheWrap has exclusively learned.<\/p>\n

Cregger wrote the original film at Amblin under the studio\u2019s deal with the streamer<\/a>, and after \u201cWeapons\u201d blew up this summer, making $267 million worldwide, Netflix tried to win Cregger\u2019s commitment to make his film with the streamer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to three knowledgeable insiders, Netflix Films chairman Dan Lin flew to Prague this summer where Cregger was prepping Sony\u2019s \u201cResident Evil\u201d in order to convince him to direct the sci-fi project at the streamer. Those insiders said that Lin dangled a theatrical commitment. <\/p>\n

But Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos later shot down the prospect of a theatrical release for \u201cThe Flood,\u201d and with Cregger adamant that he wants to make the movie for theaters, the project \u2014 which Cregger has teased as potentially his next movie after \u201cResident Evil\u201d \u2014 is now in limbo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real question is whether Netflix backs down or they let Cregger take it out [to a different studio] because Zach remains committed to a theatrical release,\u201d an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap of the project, plot details of which are being kept under wraps.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two different insiders disputed that the project was stalled and said that \u201ctalks are still ongoing,\u201d with one insider categorizing the film as in \u201cactive development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tussle over \u201cThe Flood\u201d comes as Netflix has been flirting with more significant theatrical releases, putting \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d<\/a> in wide release after it exploded on Netflix and releasing Guillermo del Toro\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein\u201d<\/a> in over 400 theaters.<\/p>\n

The streamer releases about 30 films in theaters a year and they all have bespoke release strategies, although the majority are given short awards-qualifying runs in New York and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no change in the strategy. Our strategy is to give our members exclusive first-run movies on Netflix,\u201d Sarandos said in the streamer\u2019s\u00a0third-quarter\u00a0earnings call\u00a0last month<\/a> when asked if the $19 million that \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d scored in theatrical release might convince them to rethink their stance. \u201cWe occasionally release certain films in theaters for our fans, like we did with \u2018KPop Demon Hunters,\u2019 or as part of our launch strategy, publicity, marketing, qualification, all those things, and we\u2019ll continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

2026 brings two firsts for Netflix and theaters: The series finale of \u201cStranger Things\u201d will be released in theaters at the same time it hits Netflix, and Greta Gerwig\u2019s \u201cNarnia\u201d movie will be Netflix\u2019s first to score an IMAX release after prolonged negotiations between the \u201cBarbie\u201d filmmaker and the streamer.<\/p>\n

Cregger\u2019s New Line horror epic \u201cWeapons,\u201d about a classroom full of kids who mysteriously vanish, was released in theaters this summer to wildly positive reviews and buzz that propelled it to $267 million at the worldwide box office \u2014 a feat considering it\u2019s an original concept. <\/p>\n

On the heels of that success, interest has been high in what Cregger might tackle next. For now that\u2019s \u201cResident Evil,\u201d a unique spin on the video game franchise for Sony Pictures. But the filmmaker has teased several original ideas and even a \u201cWeapons\u201d prequel as potential future projects. Including, yes, \u201cThe Flood.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\""Weapons"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The next film from \u201cWeapons\u201d filmmaker Zach Cregger, sci-fi original \u201cThe Flood,\u201d has stalled at Netflix over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[147039,88,206,217,77953,147040,3439,34726],"class_list":{"0":"post-276495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-dan-lin","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-netflix","12":"tag-ted-sarandos","13":"tag-the-flood","14":"tag-weapons","15":"tag-zach-cregger"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}