'We're competitive – we want to win': Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos rejects rumors that Warner Bros. movies won't stay in theaters for 45 days if $82bn buyout is approved

'We will run that business largely like it is today'

16 Jan 2026, 16:19 · TechRadar

News By Tom Power published 16 January 2026

Netflix's co-CEO has hit back at recent accusations about its deal to acquire Warner Bros. (Image credit: Monica Shipper/Getty Images) Share Share by:

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Netflix has clarified its stance on films landing in theaters amid its deal to buy Warner Bros.
Company head Ted Sarandos rejected the idea that they'll only be available for a 17-day period
Sarandos also disputed claims that he called the cinemagoing experience "outdated"

Netflix CEO ted Sarandos has clarified the company's stance on the theatrical release window model ahead of its potential deal to buy Warner Bros.

Speaking to The New York Times, Sarandos dispelled rumors that Netflix would reduce the amount of time that new movies developed by Warner Bros. would spend in theaters. And, to prove he was serious, Sarandos stated that, if Netflix's $82.7bn deal to acquire Warner Bros. is eventually approved, any new films that the famous studio makes will stay in cinemas for the industry-accepted 45-day period.

Rumors that Netflix might alter the theatrical release model for Warner Bros. movies first surfaced in a Deadline article. As part of a January 2, 2026, report discussing the Stranger Things 5 finale's performance on the big screen, Deadline claimed that its sources said: "Netflix have been proponents of a 17-day window, which would steamroll the theatrical business, while circuits such as AMC believe the line needs to be held around 45 days."

Fans had worried that films, such as the sequel to 2025's Superman, would only be released in theaters for a 17-day period (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios)

This new information came to light two weeks after Netflix reiterated its desire to continue releasing Warner Bros. movies via the traditional 45-day window. Indeed, The Hollywood Reporter quotes Sarandos as saying: "Our intentions, when we buy Warner Bros., will be to continue to release Warner Bros. studio movies in theaters with the traditional windows."

Now, responding to a comment from The New York Times that people believe the world's best streaming service had performed a U-turn on that promise, Sarandos argued that simply wasn't the case.

"I understand that folks are emotional about it because they love it and they don’t want it to go away," he said. "And they think that we’ve been doing things to make it go away. We haven’t.

"When this deal closes, we will own a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars of theatrical revenue that we don’t want to put at risk," Sarandos continued. "We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows. I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people – we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win [the] box office."

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