Netflix To Release 'Roma' And Two Other Oscar Contenders In Theaters Before Streaming

Netflix To Release ‘Roma’ And Two Other Oscar Contenders In Theaters Before Streaming

The critical hype aroundRomais drivingNetflixto break its own rules on theatrical releases. The streaming giant, which was once so uncompromising about its day-and-date theatrical and online release stance that it got banned from the Cannes Film Festival, is making a dramatic move for three of its biggest Oscar contenders this year.

The Netflix theatrical releases forRoma,The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, andBird Boxhave be set several weeks before the three films' streaming debuts.

Netflix announced that it will debut three of its upcoming original films in limited release before the movies hit the streaming service. These films are theAlfonso Cuaron’s intimate Spanish-language dramaRoma,JoelandEthan Coen’s anthology series-turned-filmThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs, andSusanne Bier’sBird Box, which stars Sandra Bullock.

Romahas been singled out as Netflix’s main Oscar hopeful, with many critics pointing to Cuaron’s elegiac black-and-white family drama as the Best Picture front-runner alongside Bradley Cooper’sA Star is Born. The film, which is Netflix’sbest reviewed original movie yet, will receive a three-week theatrical window, premiering onNovember 21, 2018in New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico. BothThe Ballad of Buster ScruggsandBird Boxwill have a one-week theatrical release onNovember 8andDecember 13, respectively, ahead of their debuts on Netflix.

/Film’s Siddhant Adlakha said in his New York Film Festivalreview ofRoma,“you owe yourself the unique experience of sitting down in a seat to walk through someone else’s memory. It’s like nothing you’ve ever heard or seen.” And it seems like Netflix is honoring that request.

Netflix’s decision to premiere these three films in theaters before their online debut is game-changing for the streaming service. Netflix has clashed with many theater chains and film festivals about its day-and-date policy, culminating in a messy feud with Cannes that resulted in the streaming service’sban from competition. But Netflix is ready to change,Scott Stuber,head of Netflix’s film group, said in a statement (viaReuters):

“These upcoming engagements are following the success of our theatrical and Netflix releases ofPrivate Lifeand22 July.Netflix’s priority is our members and our filmmakers, and we are constantly innovating to serve them.”

But will Academy voters see this as an industry disruptor conceding to the rules of the Oscar game? Or as a transparent ploy for that coveted statuette? Despite the streaming giant’s attempts to score a Best Picture nod in past years (first with Cary Fukunaga’s harrowing child soldier dramaBeasts of No Nation, then with a little more success with Dee Rees' four-time nomineeMudbound), some executives still see Netflix as a place where “movies go to die,” according toVanity Fair. But perhaps this move, and the critical reverie aroundRoma, could nudge favor for Netflix’s film far enough to score a Best Picture nod.