The company that once looked like it might cause the death of cinema has made a remarkable about turn. It's now releasing movies for the big screen before its own platform – and by a long stretch.
The upcoming animation Charlie Vs The Chocolate Factory will get the prestige treatment that KPop Demon Hunters was denied, with a seven-week exclusive theatrical release before it comes to Netflix. It seems the streaming giant has learned from its biggest animation release to date, which could be good news for KPop Demon Hunters 2.
Netflix Animation Studios' Charlie Vs The Chocolate Factory was made possible by the streaming platforms's acquisition of the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021. The movie will tell a new story set several years after the events of the original novel.
This will see Willy Wonka return to his factory after doing time for turning a kid into a blueberry. Meanwhile, one Charlie Paley and friends plot to break in to steal a chocolate bar that could save them from eviction from their London homes.
Like KPop Demon Hunters, the animation will be the work of Sony Pictures Imageworks. Kit Connor will voice Charlie, while Taika Waititi plays Wonka. Nicola Coughlan, Charithra Chandran, Samson Kayo, Christopher Chung, Kate Winslet, and Helena Bonham Carter also star, directed by Jared Stern and Elaine Bogan.
What Roald Dahl would think of the story, I can't say, but it's interesting to see the about-turn that Netflix has made in its release strategy. It's not the first time it's taken animated movies to the big screen, but it will be the first time it's giving one such a long and prominent run.
Back in 2022, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was released in cinemas a month ahead of its debut on Netflix but only in a limited number of independent venues. KPop Demon Hunters was released in cinemas for special sing-along events, but only after it had already become huge on Netflix.
It seems Netflix has realised that big-screen releases are more than an irritation necessary to qualify for major awards. They bring sales, and they can help secure big names, who still see the cinema as having a prestige value over TV.
Netflix also wants to avoid being caught by surprise like it was with KPop Demon Hunters, for which it hadn't even lined up merchandise lines. It's going to avoid that with the Charlie sequel, having already signed up Ferrero to release ten Wonka-branded chocolate, candy, ice cream and cereal, and with Moose Toys to launch a toy line.
Studies suggest that streaming has hit smaller-budget movies, dramas, and comedies. On-demand access has replaced the routine habit of going out just to "see something" at the weekend, but event films continue to draw huge crowds.
Netflix's decision to give movies like Charlie Vs The Chocolate Factory and next year's live-action Narnia long cinema runs suggest that after missing out on buying Warner Bros. Discovery, it aims to slink into multiplex's itself. KPop Demon Hunters 2 will now surely have to receive a proper cinema release. Fans wouldn't accept anything less.
What's less certain is Ray Gunn, the more imminent neo-noir science fiction mystery from Brad Bird. Despite Bird having written and directed hits like Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille, there's been no news of a theatrical release. The film's due to hit Netflix on 18 December, the same date that Dune 3 and Angry Birds 3 come to the box office.
Charlie Vs The Chocolate Factory will be released at cinemas on 5 November 2027 and on Netflix on 22 December 2027.
