Netflix is releasing 43 original movies before the end of the year — more than the number of films Hollywood studios are sending to theaters, combined

Daniel Craig in "Glass Onion: A 'Knives Out' Mystery."

Netflix

• Netflix will release 43 new movies to its service from September through December.
• Traditional Hollywood studios will put 35 movies in wide release in theaters during that time.
• Theaters are facing a movie drought after pandemic-related delays and a shift to streaming.

Theaters are facing a movie drought as traditional Hollywood studios release fewer movies due to pandemic-related delays and a shift to streaming.

Netflix doesn't have that problem.

The streaming giant laid out its film slate for the remainder of the year on Tuesday, dating a total of 43 original movies to be released on the service to stream from September through December, including the "Knives Out" sequel "Glass Onion" and its expected Oscar competitor "Bardo."

Meanwhile, 35 movies are slated for a wide release in theaters during that same time period as of Tuesday, according to Comscore.

Paul Dergarabedian, the Comscore senior media analyst, said that this is actually a solid number of theatrical releases given the "release slate is still trying to find equilibrium after disruptions caused by the pandemic."

But to put it in perspective, there are 17 full weeks left in 2022, so an average of around two movies are coming to theaters in wide release per week from a number of different distributors. Netflix is just one company.

According to Comscore's analysis, Warner Bros. is releasing just three movies to theaters between now and year's end (though its new corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, has expressed a renewed commitment to theaters). Paramount is releasing one.

John Fithian, the head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, recently told Insider he doesn't expect movie supply to return to pre-pandemic levels for another 12 to 18 months.

The lack of tentpole blockbusters on the schedule for the rest of the year is particularly alarming, as original dramas and action movies still haven't found a robust audience during the theater industry's recovery.

Superhero movies like DC's "Black Adam" and Marvel's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" are slated for October and November, respectively, and "Avatar: The Way of Water" comes out in December. "Halloween Ends" could drive attendance in October, too, but it will also stream on Peacock.

Cineworld, the second largest theater operator in the world, recently said that it is considering filing for bankruptcy as a "strategic option" in the face of a "limited film slate," and that "lower levels of admissions" to theaters could continue until November. 

Theaters will look to encourage moviegoing during the slow period with "National Cinema Day" on Saturday, when over 3,000 theaters in the US will offer tickets for every movie and screening at no more than $3.

But old hits are expected to drive the most attendance this weekend: "Top Gun: Maverick," which has had strong legs at the box office since opening in May, could top the box office again, and an extended version of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" will be released on Friday.

For what it's worth, Netflix has had its own share of problems this year, losing subscribers for two straight quarters for the first time in its history. To address slowing growth, it intends to clamp down on password sharing and plans to launch an ad-supported plan early next year.

It's still expected to spend $17 billion on content this year, according to The New York Times, and said during its latest earnings report that it is forecasting adding 1 million subscribers in Q3.

Here's the list of movies Netflix is releasing by the end of the year:

• "Fenced In" — September 1
• "Love in the Villa" — September 1
• "Ivy and Bean" — September 2
• "Ive and Bean: The Ghost That Had to Go" — September 2
• "Ive and Bean: Doomed to Dance" — September 2
• "The Anthrax Attacks" — September 8
• "End of the Road" — September 9
• "Drifting Home" — September 16
• "Do Revenge" — September 16
• "Lou" — September 23
• "A Jazzman's Blues" — September 23 (in select theaters September 16)
• "Athena" — September 23 (in select theaters September 9)
• "Blonde" — September 28 (in select theaters September 16)
• "Mr Harrigan's Phone" — October 5
• "Luckiest Girl Alive" — October 7 (in select theaters September 30)
• "The Redeem Team" — October 7
• "The Curse of the Bridge Hollow" — October 14
• "The School for Good and Evil" — October 19
• "Descendant" — October 21 (in select theaters October 21)
• "The Good Nurse" — October 26 (in select theaters October 29)
• "All Quiet on the Western Front" — October 28 (in theaters September 29 in Germany)
• "Wendell and Wild" — October 28 (in select theaters October 21)
• "Enola Holmes 2" – November 4
• "Falling for Christmas" — November 10
• "Is That Black Enough For You?!?" — November 11
• "Capturing the Killer Nurse" — November 11
• "In Her Hands" — November 16 (in select theaters November 9)
• "Christmas With You" — November 17
• "Slumberland" — November 18
• "The Swimmers" — November 23
• "The Noel Diary" — November 24
• "My Father's Dragon" — TBD in November
• "Monica, O My Darling" — TBD in November
• "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" — December 2 (in select theaters November 18)
• "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio" — December 9 
• "The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari" — December 16 (in select theaters December 9)
• "Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" — December 16 (in theaters in Mexico October 27; in select theaters November 4)
• "The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 1" — December 20
• "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" — December 23
• "Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical" — December 25 (in select theaters December 9)
• "White Noise" — December 30 (in select theaters November 25)
• "Lady Chatterly's Lover" — TBD in December
• "The Wonder" — TBD in December

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