Netflix has reached a deal with iPic, a chain of luxury theaters, to screen Netflix original films in Los Angeles and New York starting at the same time as their release, the Wall Street Journal reported.
With the iPic deal, Netflix and iPic are betting that upscale audiences will pay a premium – one beyond the price of their Netflix subscription or even a normal movie ticket – to see certain films on a big screen. This isn’t exactly a mass-market play, but if it makes future Netflix films more likely to get major Oscar attention in the near future, it will be worth it for the streaming giant.
Will Netflix films emerge as Oscar contenders in competition with theatrical releases?
Many major theater chains, fearing the latter, have boycotted the limited releases of Netflix films.