This is per Deadline, which reported on IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond’s quarterly earnings call earlier today. He had thoughts on how theaters were handling Cliff Booth‘s rollout. The David Fincher-directed sequel to Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, written by Quentin Tarantino and starring Brad Pitt, is getting an IMAX-only limited release at the end of the month. Normally, the sequel to a hit movie, led by a movie star reprising his Oscar-winning role, would be a no-brainer for movie theaters. However, Cinemark and Regal believe Netflix’s 27-day release window is “not aligned with the greatest interest of our theaters.” Gelfond doesn’t get it. “If you’re a circuit that has hundreds or thousands of screens, you could play Hunger Games on lots of screens, and you could play Cliff Booth on your IMAX screens, and it’s a win-win,” he said. “They have that flexibility if they want to use it.” But, as he notes, “some exhibitors are kind of standing on ceremony and saying, ‘We don’t like the Netflix window around it.'”
Believing this is “a battle that’s already been fought,” Gelfond wants to remind investors that “a lot of the exhibitors played KPop Demon Hunters and did very well. And that was after it came out on Netflix.” The KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along Event was Netflix’s first box office number one. Ironically, back in the summer of 2025, AMC refused to play it, so it made its money in Cinemark and Regal. It wasn’t until later that year, when Netflix wanted to put Demon Hunters back in theaters for Halloween, that AMC and Netflix finally came to terms, paving the way for a brief release of the Stranger Things finale. Heady times.
As it stands, Cliff Booth will play in AMC theaters. Thankfully, AMC has over 500 IMAX screens worldwide, more than any other theater chain. The Further Mis-Adventures Of Cliff Booth begins its two-week limited IMAX engagement on November 25. It lands on Netflix on December 23.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.