• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 7 hours ago

Perhaps Netflix is moving closer to more traditional entertainment data disclosures -- like that of theatrical movie box-office revenue releases.

Netflix will now report box-office revenue numbers for six upcoming theatrical movies, as well as seeing much longer theatrical runs than typical Netflix theatrical releases in the past.

This includes Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” which will get a wide release for almost 50 days, while the company’s animated “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will play wide for 47 days at Christmas, according toVariety.

In the past Netflix may have had a short theatrical release for a couple of modestly budgeted, adult-themed movies for a couple of days or a week, at best, to qualify for possible Oscar nominations and potential award hardware.

All this attention from the big award shows would spin high-profile marketing and promotion messaging -- largely to help grow streaming subscribers' revenues for its platform.

But now analysts believe that Netflix has, to an extent, turned the focus to making substantial revenue from other platforms -- like movie theaters.

This has analysts taking a closer look. Many believe Netflix may move to becoming a more traditional movie producer -- similar to Paramount, Warner Bros., Walt Disney, Universal or Sony.

This also reflects back on Netflix's recent interest in buying Warner Bros. Discovery. After it pulled out of the escalating price war with Paramount, it offered up the sentiment that WBD would have been “nice to have” but not a necessity for growth.

But perhaps things have changed. One analyst considers this.

“We believe that strong theatrical results could support a stronger talent relationship, would reflect leadership confidence, could spur incremental revenue, and underpin a greater perceived value for the streaming service,” says Michael Morris, media analyst at Guggenheim Securities.

He adds: “Netflix extending reporting beyond these six titles or making investments in distribution infrastructure could be indicators of a longer-term strategic change.”

Welcome to theatrical Hollywood!