Netflix film Army of the Dead to be screened in widest US theatrical release

Army of the Dead, a movie by Netflix and Zack Snyder will be released in over 200 locations from May 14, announced Cinemark Theatres on Tuesday.

A week later, the film will be streamed on Netflix.

Other chains of theatres, including Landmark Theatres and Alamo Drafthouse, will screen the film as well. In the largest theatrical release yet for any Netflix film, the movie, Army of the Dead, will be presented on about 600 screens across the US.

"Cinemark is excited to work with Netflix on our first wide release and provide movie lovers the opportunity to see Army of the Dead in our theatres across the U.S.," Justin McDaniel, Cinemark's senior vice president of global content strategy, said in a statement.

"Zack Snyder fans will love seeing the action in an immersive, cinematic environment with larger-than-life sight and sound technology."

Earlier, the largest chains of theatres declined to run the Netflix movies as they required at least a 90-day window for any movie to stay on the big screen. The window was smashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, the streamer always declined to act upon this agreement, even for such major films as Martin Scorsese's $150 million-plus The Irishman. 

As the pandemic impact grew intenser with cinemas shuttered for a longer period of time, the studios sought other avenues to take their movies to the viewers. Universal, in July, asked AMC — the world's largest theatre chain — to release its movies on VOD after just a 17-day run in theatres. Also, Warner Bros. announced that its entire 2021 film slate would play on HBO Max and in theatres simultaneously.

Now, America's third-largest theatre chain is ready to screen the Netflix movie - a beginning of a new era in movie theatres' relationship with the streamer. Earlier, Cinemark-affiliated theatres ran The Christmas Chronicles 2, The Midnight Sky, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom for very limited runs.

Army of the Dead features Dave Bautista as the leader of a group of mercenaries who go for a heist at a zombie-infested Las Vegas casino. The cast members include Matthias Schweighöfer, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Garret Dillahunt, Raúl Castillo, Omari Hardwick, and Tig Notaro.

Netflix will stream the film on May 21.