Netflix is wasting absolutely zero time capitalizing on the pandemic induced theatrical shutdown to fill all the gaps of a desolate 2021 release calendar. And when I say fill the gaps, they’ve got at least one film premiering every week of the year. Check out the sizzle reel below:
That’s a stacked roster with equally stacked casts. Netflix has shown up to play with action films, horror films, dramas, comedies, even two musicals and western. Their 2020 roster was nothing to scoff at, but they’re definitely swinging for the fences in 2021 and beyond, setting themselves up as major players in the production and distribution game
Notable amongst that barrage of clips are their recently acquired The Woman in the Window starring Amy Adams, horror film Army of the Dead from Zack Snyder, the directorial debuts of both Lin Manuel Miranda and Halle Berry, and so much more to like from Chris Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy, Regina King, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Dave Batista, Jennifer Hudson, et al. And of course the final chapters of their popular teen romance franchises The Kissing Booth and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Some of 2020’s Netflix features are about to make my year end list (coming soon), so they are definitely covering the spread of prestige to popcorn fluff (not that popcorn fluff is bad). But with the theatre reopening getting pushed further and further back, and streaming becoming a more viable option for consumers, studios, and (some) artists, Netflix is setting the standard for the streaming release model.
Something to bear in mind is this is just what we know for sure now. Last week’s release Pieces of a Woman was a Venice Film Festival addition late in the year. Woman in the Window was a pick up from 20th Century Studios that was supposed to be a theatrical release over a year ago. So they’re already up to one per week, and they’ll only get more.
The Empty Theatre 
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