Netflix Film Chief Dan Lin Says Streamer Has “Accepted” It Won’t Work With Directors Who Want Theatrical Releases

As Netflix Films chairman, Dan Lin said he wants the streamer to prioritize more mid-budget fare but avoid working with directors who hold steadfast to a theatrical opening.

“There is a group of filmmakers who still want theatrical. Those are filmmakers that we’ve accepted we just won’t work with,” he told The New York Times in a recent interview, noting that the platform’s forthcoming wide release of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew from Greta Gerwig is the sole exception to the company’s perspective on cineplexes.

“Because I have such a huge slate, my job is very different from other studio chairmen’s jobs,” the executive producer said. “I can’t impose my taste on the slate. But I can impose a way of making movies. I can impose a way of how we want to work with filmmakers. I think people on the outside are pretty clear on what I’m going for: making someone’s favorite movie in a specific genre, focusing on variety and quality and making Netflix the best place for filmmakers to work.”

Lin said he wanted Netflix to produce more comedies, rom-coms and book adaptations, pointing to the Emily Henry adaptation People We Meet on Vacation as a prime example of the types of movies he aims to prioritize making. (The movie, starring Tom Blyth and Emily Bader, racked up a decently sized debut with over 17 million views in its opening weekend. Bader is slated to appear in two more movies from the streamer.)

Outside of Narnia, Netflix has somewhat flirted with theatrical. The streamer garnered its first No. 1 at the box office with the two-day opening for KPop Demon Hunters, which generated over $19 million. However, despite a further Halloween re-release, co-CEO Ted Sarandos emphasized “there’s no change in the strategy” when asked whether the OTT service was wading deeper into theatrical distribution.

Additionally, there is the planned Imax release of David Fincher‘s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel film, opening for two weeks on Thanksgiving before moving to the platform Dec. 23, a somewhat similar strategy to the rollout for Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man last year.