Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth Film Gets a Short IMAX Run as Cinemark and Regal Say No. Guard What You Watch.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

Brad Pitt returns as stuntman Cliff Booth in a new Netflix film set for a short IMAX run at Thanksgiving, then a Christmas streaming debut. Two major theater chains say they will not show it because the theatrical window is too short.

These accounts come from reports and the studio's own pages read early Thursday morning, Nov. 5, Central time. Release plans can still change.

Pitt won an Oscar for the role in Tarantino's 2019 film. The new project keeps the character and moves the clock forward into the late 1970s, a period Hollywood often treats as both glamorous and rotten. Studios are counting on nostalgia and star power to cut through a crowded streaming calendar.

The release plan

Variety reported that the film — listed there under the unofficial working title "The Adventures of Cliff Booth" — will get an exclusive two-week IMAX run starting Nov. 25 and will arrive on Netflix on Dec. 23. Variety said David Fincher is directing from a script by Quentin Tarantino, and that the story is set in 1977, after the events of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Netflix's own Tudum page gives the official title as "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth," confirms the Nov. 25 IMAX window and the Dec. 23 streaming date, and says the film is set in 1977. The studio's trailer copy on that page begins, "Murder, blackmail, theft, extortion — just another summer in Hollywood."

Variety also reported that the IMAX Thanksgiving slot had previously been set for Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew," which was moved aside for the Pitt film.

Theaters say no

The Independent reported that Cinemark and Regal have declined to show the film because of the short release window Netflix offered. Citing The Hollywood Reporter, The Independent quoted Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble from an earnings call: "The Cliff Booth situation is an interesting one." Gamble continued, "We book all of our films on a case-by-case situation," and said, "In this particular case, we don't believe the proposed release model is constructive for the broader theatrical ecosystem, and it's not aligned [with] what's of the greatest interest in our theaters." The Independent said it had contacted Netflix for comment.

Netflix has used short theatrical windows before. For another recent Netflix release covered here, see Netflix's Matthew Perry Docuseries and His Prayer for Fame.

That fight is about money and precedent. Theater chains fear that if they accept a two-week IMAX exclusive followed by a quick streaming dump, every streamer will demand the same terms. Netflix wants the marketing bump of a theatrical premiere without surrendering a long exclusive window to cinemas.

Opinion:

Hollywood wants the prestige of a big screen and the cash of a streaming dump a few weeks later. Theater owners are right to ask whether that deal serves anyone but the streamer. A movie that cannot stand a normal run is telling you something about how the studio values the audience in the seats.

Parents should also read the trailer line slowly. Murder, blackmail, theft and extortion are not a casual summer backdrop. They are sins. Selling them as atmosphere is an old Hollywood habit. Adults can watch a crime story with discernment. Children should not be trained to shrug at evil.

Scripture still gives a better filter for what fills the mind: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Choose carefully. The screen will not choose for you.

Go to a theater if the film is offered and if your conscience is clear. Or wait, or skip it. Just do not pretend that a short IMAX stunt turns a crime spree into wholesome family fare. Title cards and trailers tell on themselves.