Theater owners: ‘The Irishman’ ‘deserved better’ release

NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “The Irishman” landed in theaters Friday, but not nearly enough of them say theater owners.

Netflix was unable to come to terms with the largest movie theater chains on “The Irishman.” The traditional theatrical window is 90 days, something Netflix has declined to follow.

That has left Netflix films essentially boycotted by the majority of multiplexes. Netflix has instead carved out a roughly three-week exclusive run in independent theaters.

John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners on Friday lamented Netflix’s rollout of one of the year’s most acclaimed films, from one of cinema’s top filmmakers. Fithian says Scorsese “deserved better.”

A Netflix executive who spoke to The New York Times about the company’s “Irishman” strategy said the company cares about box office, but also wants viewers to watch films the way they want.