Gerwig’s “Narnia” Could Set A Netflix Budget Record

The other day came the surprise news that Greta Gerwig’s long-awaited “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” film is doing something Netflix hadn’t really done before.

The project was originally planned to have a Thanksgiving IMAX-only release for two weeks only, followed by a Netflix release at Christmas.

Then, on Friday last week, it was announced that plans had shifted. The title is now getting a wide theatrical run globally in both regular cinemas and on IMAX on February 12th 2027, followed by a Netflix release 54 days later on April 2nd.

It marks a first for the streamer, though one reason why now appears to have been revealed. On the newest episode of Matthew Belloni’s The Town podcast, it has been claimed that the film could become the streaming giant’s most expensive to date:

“I’ve heard it’s going to be the most expensive movie Netflix has ever made, if not the most, with apologies to the Russo brothers here, but it’s going to be among the most expensive movies that Netflix has ever made.”

The current record is held by Joe and Anthony Russo’s widely panned “The Electric State” starring Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown, which was said to have a budget of around $320 million.

Other highly costly Netflix originals include Scorsese’s “The Irishman” at $225 million and both “Red Notice” and “The Gray Man” at $200 million.

Gerwig’s most expensive film is “Barbie” which reportedly cost around $145 million.