This image released by Netflix shows Tim Blake Nelson as Buster Scruggs in a scene from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” a film by Joel and Ethan Coen which will have an exclusive run in theaters before becoming available on Netflix’s streaming service. (Netflix via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) --
Netflix will give three films an exclusive run in theaters before making them available on its streaming service.
Up until now, Netflix has steadfastly insisted on releasing films in theaters only simultaneously with their streaming premiere. Netflix's major pivot will give a handful of its most anticipated movies a stand-alone run in a relatively small number of theaters. Major chains still refuse to screen films that don't adhere to an exclusive 90-day window.
Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma," the Coen brothers' "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" and the Sandra Bullock-starring thriller "Bird Box" will play in theaters for one to three weeks before premiering on Netflix.
The move could aid the Oscar aspirations of "Buster Scruggs" and, in particular, "Roma," which critics have hailed as one of the year's best.
Josef Newgarden leads the pack into Turn 2 after the start of the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race, Sunday March 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
Fox Sports' debut IndyCar race drew 1.417 million viewers and was the most watched series event aside from the Indianapolis 500 on any network since 2011.
The mark for Sunday's opener on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg was a 45% increase over last year's event, which drew 974,700 combined viewers on NBC.
The Fox Sports viewership peaked with 1,820,000 viewers from 2:15-2:26 p.m. Local market ratings will not be available until later this week.
IndyCar this season ended it's 16-year relationship with NBC Sports for a multi-year deal with Fox Sports, which has promised high-quality production and promotion that began in January with glossy commercials featuring three of the series stars that aired during NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.
IndyCar has a close relationship with Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, an Indiana native with a passion for both the series and the Indianapolis 500. He has vowed to push IndyCar back to the top levels of motorsports.
Despite the heavy promotion — which was also done during NASCAR's Daytona 500 and other Fox Sports programming — Shanks acknowledged to The Associated Press "there will still be people Googling on Sunday 'What network is today's IndyCar race on,'" — something he hopes to eliminate. All 17 races and both of the Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions will be aired on Fox Sports this year, making IndyCar the only major motorsports series to air its entire schedule on network television.
The opener on Sunday, which was a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing with Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, was even more impressive in that NBC Sports uses the TAD (total audience delivery) metric that includes live streaming. FOX does not use TAD because it is not recognized by Nielsen Media... Read More
