Oscar Isaac in “Frankenstein.”
Netflix
Audiences can now find out where Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein will be playing during its limited run in theaters before it begins streaming on Netflix.
After the teaser trailer for Frankenstein was released during Netflix’s annual Tudum event in May, fans across social media and on YouTube began asking whether the streaming platform would release the film in theaters. Netflix apparently was listening and announced on Aug. 18 that the film would be opening in “select theaters” on Oct. 17 before arriving on the streaming service on Nov. 7.
The big question that remained, however, was the number of theaters in which the film would be playing. In an interview with Variety two days after the Tudum announcement, del Toro shed more light on the pending release, noting, “We will get the biggest theatrical release that Netflix gives its films. I don’t know the exact number, but it’s three weeks exclusively and then it can stay in theaters longer.”
So, while an official number of theaters remains up in the air, at least fans who hope to catch the film can now find out if the film is playing in nearby venue. On Tuesday, Netflix’s ticketing site for Frankenstein went live, where users can type in their cities or zip codes to find out when the film is playing in their area.
The length of each run seems to vary by location, but most theaters will be showing Frankenstein at least through early November.
The official logline for Frankenstein reads, “Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.”
Oscar Isaac stars as Victor Frankenstein in the film, while Jacob Elordi plays his creation, who is dubbed “The Creature.” The film also stars Mia Goth as Victor’s fiancée, Elizabeth Lavenza, as well as Felix Kammerer as Victor’s younger brother, William. Christoph Waltz rounds out the core cast as Heinrich Harlander, who funds Victor’s experiments.
The reason Frankenstein’s theatrical release is so notable is that Netflix rarely releases its original films in theaters. Generally, Netflix will only release films in theaters before streaming them to qualify for film awards — including the Oscars — and even then, those runs are limited to a week in theaters in New York or Los Angeles.
There are rare exceptions, of course, including the pending release of Frankenstein and the recent release KPop Demon Hunters in theaters. In the third weekend of August, Netflix released a special sing-along version of the film in 1,700 theaters, according to Variety.
KPop Demon Hunters was the unofficial box office champ in its three-day run based on industry estimates of the film’s ticket sales since Netflix does not report its theatrical earnings.
‘Frankenstein’ Is Only Opening In New York And Los Angeles On Friday Before Expanding Into More Markets
One thing that moviegoers will notice immediately when searching for showtimes on Netflix’s Frankenstein site is that, unless they live in New York City or Los Angeles, they won’t be able to see the film in theaters until Oct. 24.
A representative for Netflix confirmed in an email on Tuesday that the film was only going to be playing in those two markets in the first week of its limited release, which begins on Friday. The release of Frankenstein in NYC and LA fulfills the requirements of the film’s awards-qualifying run.
The release of Frankenstein marks the completion of a lifelong goal for Guillermo del Toro, who told audiences attending Netflix’s Tudum event in May, “I first read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a kid and saw Boris Karloff in what became for me a religious state. Monsters have become my personal belief system. There are strands of Frankenstein throughout my films — Cronos, Blade, Hellboy, big time on Pinocchio and a long, long, et cetera.”
For fans content with skipping the big-screen experience, Frankenstein begins streaming on Netflix on Nov. 7.