Zach Cregger To Netflix: The Flood Must Get A Theatrical Release Or No Deal

Zach Cregger is hitting pause on his sci-fi thriller The Flood at Netflix after the streamer took a theatrical release off the table—he won’t make the movie without big-screen play.

Zach Cregger is juggling two very different things right now: shooting a new Resident Evil movie for Sony in Prague and trying to get his next original, a sci-fi thriller called The Flood, off the ground. Netflix tried to swoop in and grab it. Then Ted Sarandos killed the vibe.

The pitch that hit a wall

Here’s the play, per The Wrap: Netflix Films chairman Dan Lin literally flew to Prague to court Cregger for The Flood. He even dangled the thing every filmmaker loves to hear from a streamer — a possible theatrical run. That part tracks; Netflix just gave Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein some big-screen love last month.

But when the idea made its way up the chain, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reportedly nixed the theatrical part of the plan. For Cregger, that’s a hard no. No theaters, no deal. So The Flood is stuck in limbo until one side blinks.

As one source told The Wrap, the question now is whether Netflix backs down on the no-theatrical stance or lets Cregger shop the movie somewhere else. He’s not budging on getting this one on the big screen.

Why theaters matter here

This isn’t just principle. Cregger’s last outing, Weapons, pulled in $268 million worldwide on a $38 million budget. If you’re him, you want to roll that momentum into another theatrical run — especially for a high-concept sci-fi thriller that could benefit from a crowd and a sound system.

Netflix has been testing the big screen anyway

Here’s the part that makes this extra interesting: Netflix isn’t completely anti-theatrical these days. They’ve been dabbling — sometimes more than dabbling. Recent examples:

• Frankenstein got a limited theatrical run in 400 theaters.
• KPop Demon Hunters even landed a wide theatrical release.
• About 30 Netflix titles get some kind of theatrical play every year.
• The final episode of Stranger Things is set for limited screenings in 350+ theaters across the U.S. and Canada starting the night of December 31.
• Next year, Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie will be the first Netflix production to hit IMAX screens.

Netflix’s stance, in their own words

Despite the experiments, Sarandos has been very clear about the overall strategy. During last month’s third-quarter earnings call, he was asked if a theatrical hit like KPop Demon Hunters changes anything going forward. His answer was pretty definitive:

There’s no change in the strategy. Our strategy is to give our members exclusive first-run movies on Netflix. We occasionally release certain films in theaters for our fans, like we did with KPop Demon Hunters, or as part of our launch strategy, publicity, marketing, qualification, all those things, and we’ll continue to do that.

Where this leaves The Flood

Short version: nowhere fast. Netflix wants it for streaming-first. Cregger wants a real theatrical release. Unless Netflix offers big-screen play, he’ll take The Flood elsewhere. In the meantime, he’s still in Prague, working on Resident Evil for Sony and holding the line on this one.

If Netflix really wants to be in the Zach Cregger business, they know the price of admission. And honestly, given the Weapons numbers, it’s not hard to see why he’s pushing for the big screen.