Netflix is exploring the idea of releasing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein film in cinemas, and on IMAX screens.
Guillermo del Toro and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a match made in heaven for fans of cinema… almost. Take one of today’s finest living directors, a filmmaker renowned for his work with both the gothic and with monsters, and then give him one of, perhaps even the greatest gothic monster story ever told. It feels right.
Clearly, this is a film that belongs on a cinema screen, and yet, throughout the film’s production, that possibility has seemed remote given that this is a Netflix project. The company’s attitude to cinema releases is sniffy at best, and outright hostile at worst. Its CEO, Ted Sarandos, recently called the theatrical experience “outmoded.”
Still, Greta Gerwig’s use of her post-Barbie influence to coerce Netflix into releasing her upcoming Narnia films in IMAX cinemas may have also wedged open the door for other filmmakers to follow, given that a report today coming out of the Cannes Film Festival suggests del Toro’s Frankenstein will be afforded the same treatment.
Collider writes that Richard Gelfond, CEO of IMAX, was chatting about upcoming IMAX releases at the festival, and confirmed Frankenstein will get a cinema run in his company’s large screen format. Gelfond said that a deal hasn’t yet been closed, but he added that an IMAX release is presently “under discussion.”
Read more: Guillermo del Toro | Feature length documentary in the works
Gerwig’s first Narnia film is set to get a 28-day run on IMAX in November 2026, so here’s hoping that del Toro, a filmmaker of similar stature is afforded the same privilege. Such a move would surely create a precedent, allowing other filmmakers of note to demand the same kind of treatment.
When news dropped recently that David Fincher would be helming a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, one of our first thoughts was that this would finally be the project that pushes Netflix into giving Fincher’s films some kind of theatrical release, so let’s hope that proves to be the case.
Netflix has backed del Toro’s take on Frankenstein, a project for which he has assembled some heavyweight talent: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth and Charles Dance all star.
If Frankenstein is indeed appearing in IMAX, there won’t be long to wait; Netflix has its streaming date pencilled in for November 2025. More on this as we get it.
