“I’m as frustrated as you that it’s not everywhere,” Johnson wrote back to a fan unhappy that the film wasn’t opening anywhere within driving distance of Oklahoma City. “New theaters will be added so keep checking,” Johnson avowed, before suggesting fans might need to take it upon themselves to make more direct inquiries: “Also if you’re inclined it wouldn’t hurt to contact the manager of your local theater and (politely!) ask them if it’s coming.” (Elsewhere, Johnson pointed fans to the film’s official web site for theater information, and stated that, while the movie will never show up on AMC screens due to the chain’s long-running war with Netflix over theatrical windows, it’ll end up in more theaters “If I have anything to say about it.”)
What we’re seeing here, in case it wasn’t clear, is a fascinating bit of tension growing out of the deal Johnson signed with Netflix back in 2021, which saw the streamer pay a reported $450 million in order to secure two Knives Out sequels for itself. Penned at a time when it was still extremely unclear how movie theaters were going to recover from the pandemic lockdowns, it was easy to see how it made sense for Johnson to sign on: Netflix provided comfortable, if not massive, budgets for him to provide the locales (and, probably more importantly, the casts) that make the franchise work, and the streamer’s not-inconsiderable promotional apparatus would be on hand to get attention on the films.
That being said, Johnson has made quite a few comments, in his own genial way, about his discomfort with his films getting disconnected from the theatrical experience, one of those director vs. studio sticking points that’s only getting stickier as streamers gain prominence. Johnson has diplomatically pushed back on Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ assertions that movie theaters are “outdated,” and remains devoted to the theatrical experience—despite the fact that he hasn’t had a movie in regular, wide release since the original Knives Out was a tidy box office hit in 2019. While he noted in a recent profile that Netflix “Are what they are, and they do what they do,” and that “We signed up for the ride with that,” it’s clear he’s still pining for more screens. That includes remarking to fans that, unlike 2022’s Glass Onion—which was contractually locked to a single week in theaters—Wake Up Dead Man can stay in theaters even after it land on Netflix on December 12, writing that, “It can absolutely stay in theaters after the 12/12 Netlix drop if there’s demand—it’s up to the theaters to decide.”
