Netflix’s Oscar contender ‘Roma’ won’t be shown at Alamo Drafthouse

“Roma.”
Netflix

• The popular Alamo Drafthouse chain will not be showing
  Netflix’s “Roma.”
• The Oscar contender will be one of the first original Netflix
  films to have an exclusive theatrical run before it streams.
• After weeks of negotiations between Netflix and Drafthouse to
  show the movie at its Brooklyn, New York location, the theater
  chain finally felt the streaming giant put too many “restrictions
  and guidelines” on them, a source close to the negotiations told
  Business Insider.
• The movie will instead be shown at New York City’s IFC
  Center, and is locking other locations to show the movie across
  the country.

Netflix wants to keep its powerhouse directors happy going into
Oscar season, but one of the first theatrical runs for its
original films with a big name helmer has hit a snag.

Alamo Drafthouse, one of the most prominent independently owned
movie chains in the US, will not be showing Netflix’s Oscar
contender, “Roma,” a source close to negotiations between the
chain and streaming giant told Business Insider. A source close
to Netflix confirmed that Alamo Drafthouse had passed on the
movie.

At the end of October, Netflix began to dramatically change
course on how it released Oscar-contending films. Reports surfaced that for the
first time Netflix would stop its “day-and-date” model — in which
the movie premieres in theaters and on Netflix the same day — and
give exclusive theatrical runs of around 1-3 weeks for not just
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” but two other of its anticipated films,
the Coen brothers’ “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” and Susanne
Bier’s “Bird Box” starring Sandra Bullock. 

Alamo Drafthouse was one of the reported chains in the mix to
show “Roma.” But Netflix’s terms on how the movie would be
released, and how often, led to the popular chain passing on the
anticipated title, according to the source.

While “Buster Scruggs” and “Bird Box” are reportedly getting
around one-week runs at select theaters before they are available
to stream on Netflix, the company wants to pull out all the stops
for “Roma,” which out of the three has the
best chance to win Oscars in the major categories, including
best picture.

Along with around a 3-4 week run for the movie, Netflix is
specifically looking for theaters that can show the movie with
Dolby Atmos sound or in 70mm.

As even four weeks is shorter than the traditional 90-day window
that the major chains like AMC, Regal, and Cinemark want films
to be shown in theaters, Netflix knows it cannot go to them. That
leaves the streaming giant to depend on the mid-level chains and
independently owned arthouses.

Alamo Drafthouse and Netflix had been in discussions for weeks
about showing “Roma,” specifically at the chain’s Brooklyn, New
York location, which could show the movie in 70mm. It’s one of
the only theaters in the city that can pull that off.

Sarah
Jacobs

Netflix was stringent on its terms, according to the source,
which included that “Roma” have a full four-week run with all the
screenings show in 70mm. The company also planned to four-wall
the theaters, meaning Netflix would be renting the theater from
Drafthouse. (It plans to do this at all the locations where the
films will be played.) This is an unconventional move in the
industry, where typically the movie theater splits the box office
with the distributor.

Though Drafthouse was willing to show “Roma” at its Brooklyn
location, it does not four-wall. Also, the 70mm projector at the
location is in its biggest auditorium, meaning that for four
weeks the movie would take up its prime space, with Drafthouse
unable to schedule in any other titles. That’s a tough ask in a
time of year when every weekend a new big movie is about to hit
theaters.

“Just way too many restrictions and guidelines,” the source told
Business Insider.

“Roma” will now be screened in New York at Manhattan’s IFC Center beginning November 21, IFC confirmed to
Business Insider. That theater does not have capabilities to show
the movie in 70mm.

Alamo Drafthouse is not the only theater, outside of the majors,
to pass on the Netflix offer. Business Insider has reached out to
multiple arthouses that said they eventually passed on showing
“Roma” due to the terms of Netflix. These include some that would
have gotten the movie following its exclusive theatrical run,
after the movie began streaming on Netflix December 14.

“Terms are not too high, but higher than it should be for a movie
that’s streaming at the same time,” one theater owner told
Business Insider.

Other theaters told Business Insider they would love to show the
movie but don’t have a venue that can accommodate Netflix’s
terms.

“It’s complicated by Netflix’s insistence that theaters have
Dolby Atmos, an extremely expensive sound system that very few
theaters can afford,” another theater owner said.