With ‘Beasts of No Nation,’ Netflix begins its push on the movie business

“Beasts of No Nation” isn’t expected to light up the box office this weekend. The movie, about an African child soldier, will have a limited theatrical release in a few dozen theaters nationwide.

But the well-reviewed film is generating considerable interest in Hollywood for another reason: It marks Netflix’s foray into feature filmmaking and distribution.

The Los Gatos-based company with 70 million worldwide subscribers already has changed the way people consume TV. Now, it wants to upend the model for releasing movies.

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“Beasts of No Nation” is a Cary Fukunaga indie war drama produced by Participant Media and Red Crown. It debuted on the streaming service Friday -- the same day it opened in Landmark Theatres at 31 locations across 27 markets, including Los Angeles and New York.

That’s a departure from Hollywood convention. Typically, movies play for several months in theaters before the studios make them available for home viewing.

For Netflix, releasing original movies is another way to attract monthly subscribers to its streaming service and thereby increase revenue. And it plays to the audience’s desire for immediate gratification in an on-demand world.

“When people hear about things in the Internet world, they expect to be able to have access to it right then,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told The Times last year.

Sarandos has been an outspoken advocate of day-and-date releases, much to the chagrin of theaters’ owners. They view his strategy as misguided.

The country’s four largest theater chains — AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Carmike — refused to show the movie because it undermines the typical 90-day delay between a theatrical debut and a home-entertainment release that is core to their business.

Theater owners have argued that shortening the traditional theatrical window will hurt ticket sales by discouraging people from going to the multiplex to watch movies. And they’ve staunchly resisted past attempts by studios to tamper with the model. A recent effort by Paramount Pictures to make two of its upcoming films available via digital home video 17 days after they exit theaters failed to gain much traction among the nation’s top theater chains.

“This is seen as a press release more than a theatrical release,” said Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. “Theaters don’t see the value in competing with a cheaper home-video product. ... It’s less incentive to see the movie in theaters.”

Netflix seems undeterred by the criticism.

“There is a lot of talk about windows surrounding ‘Beasts of No Nation’ and Netflix, but the truth is, the only window that matters is the window on the world that great cinema can provide, the window into the human condition and life on earth,” Sarandos said in a statement to The Times.

“And no filmmaker in recent memory has created that window as powerfully as Cary has with this film,” he said.

“Beasts of No Nation” is the first among several feature films that will debut simultaneously online and in theaters, or only online. Part of Netflix’s movie slate includes the upcoming Adam Sandler comedy “The Ridiculous Six” (due in December); the sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (set for early next year); and the Brad Pitt satire “War Machine” (set for late next year).

“It’s important for people to understand that these movies are not TV movies,” Sarandos told analysts earlier this year. “They are on the same size, scale and scope as movies you would see in theaters.”

Some theaters, such as Landmark, previously participated in day-and-date releases by other studios.

The industry will closely watch how “Beasts of No Nation” performs in theaters to gauge the success of the experiment. Netflix has a longstanding practice of not releasing viewership data for its content so box office results will provide a glimpse to its popularity.

Analysts are cautious about whether Netflix’s move will alter the industry.

“The Hollywood movie model is not going to change because of Netflix,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. “When you look at the money at stake in Hollywood — when you add up the different revenue streams (theatrical release, DVDs, etc.) — you think these guys are going to let Netflix screw up their model?”

Netflix is being calculated with its move.

The October release date for “Beasts of No Nation” puts it squarely in awards season. Netflix has been in the Oscar race the past two years with nominees in the documentary feature category — “The Square” (2014) and “Virunga” (2015). But should “Beasts of No Nation” earn Oscar recognition, it would become the streaming giant’s first contender in the narrative feature races, a feat that would generate a lot of buzz and could drive talent to its doors.

“Beasts of No Nation” is based on a novel by Uzodinma Iweala and tells the story of a 14-year-old child soldier who loses his family and is recruited to fight a civil war in an African country under a guerrilla warlord played by Idris Elba.

Twitter: @villarrealy, @rverrier