Two cinema chains refuse to screen the sequel to Once upon a time… in Hollywood.
Cinemark and Regal have decided not to sell any of their Imax screens to The other misadventures of Cliff Boothin which Brad Pitt reprises his role as an intrepid stuntman in a film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher. The decision effectively makes Cliff Stand exclusive to AMC among the major chains.
During Cinemark’s third-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday, CEO Sean Gamble explained that the company decided not to release the film due to Netflix’s very short release window – which ends just two weeks before the title moves to streaming – and not wanting to set a precedent that could come back to haunt the network in future negotiations.
“THE Cliff Stand It’s an interesting situation,” Gamble said. “We book all of our films on a case-by-case basis. In this particular situation, we always look at things from a long-term perspective and how certain precedents and certain things we might do might affect the dynamics of the industry in the longer term. In this particular case, we do not believe the proposed release model is constructive for the broader theatrical ecosystem, nor is it aligned with what is of greatest interest in our cinemas. Gamble also added that keeping The Hunger Games: Sunrise over the Harvest on its Imax screens during Thanksgiving is a sell-out due to the film’s strong anticipated sales.
Cliff Stand will debut in theaters on November 25, then on Netflix on December 23.
For Netflix, which has historically resisted efforts by filmmakers to secure theatrical releases for their films, the film actually represents a first – the first time the streamer has released a film in Imax. The slot was originally supposed to go to Greta Gerwig Narnia: the magician’s nephewbut the film has been pushed back to February, where it will have a much more generous seven-week theatrical window.
Cinemark Holdings reported higher revenues and profits than a year ago, seeing total revenues increase to $1.05 billion from $857.5 million for the same period in 2025. Gamble predicted that the theatrical window could actually widen despite the rise of streaming.
“We’re going to continue to see (the window) widen, especially since commitments were a minimum of 45 days and beyond that, many larger films continue to have windows longer than 60 days,” he said. “As we pass the milestone of 2027, we’re going to see that window continue to widen a bit, especially as more studios join us.”
Etan Vlessing contributed to this report.
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