Netflix is officially leasing a beloved New York movie theater in what could be a key move in its quest for a Best Picture Oscar win.
The streaming service, which has been engaged in an ongoing battle with theater owners, has signed a lease to keep open New York's historic Paris Theatre, which the company will use for special events and screenings of its movies, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Major theater chains have continuously refused to show Netflix movies due to the company's practice of making its films available for streaming a few weeks after they debut in theaters; these chains typically require about three months of exclusivity. It's for this reason Martin Scorsese's The Irishman didn't receive a wide release, as Netflix was reportedly unwilling to wait more than 45 days between the film's theatrical debut and its streaming release.
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"It's a disgrace," John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, told The New York Times of the dispute.
One of the main reasons Netflix shows its movies in theaters at all is to qualify for the Oscars, but when Roma came up short for Best Picture earlier this year, some speculated that Netflix's antagonist attitude toward theatrical norms held it back among traditional Oscar voters. Now, the company will continue using the Paris Theatre, which shuttered earlier this year and was reportedly set to become a medical clinic, to screen major Oscar contenders; Marriage Story, a likely 2020 Best Picture nominee, is now playing there.
Netflix is also in talks to purchase Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre. Deadline writes these are both "significant things" Netflix is doing to "endear itself to the Hollywood community," adding the two moves should "help remove the stigma during Oscar season, which is what this investment is all about."
