Charlie isn’t just visiting Willy Wonka’s famed chocolate factory. He’ll also be in theaters worldwide next fall.
Netflix has announced that its upcoming animated feature “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory,” which they recently previewed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, will have a global theatrical release on Nov. 5, 2027, before arriving on the streaming platform on Dec. 22, 2027. (The Christmas-to-New Year’s period is Netflix’s most-watched corridor.) Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle international distribution for the global theatrical release.
That’s a 45-day theatrical window, far larger than the three-week windows that Netflix has traditionally given its theatrical releases like “Frankenstein” in the past.
Additionally, Netflix has announced the full voice cast for “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory,” with Nicola Coughlan, Charithra Chandran, Samson Kayo, Christopher Chung, Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham Carter joining the previously announced Kit Connor (as the new Charlie) and Taika Waititi (as Willy Wonka).
This marks the second-biggest theatrical rollout for a Netflix project. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” follow-up, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” will be released in Imax and wide globally in theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, and on Netflix April 2, 2027. (There will be select Imax screenings on Feb. 10.) Meanwhile, David Fincher’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” follow-up, written by Quentin Tarantino and starring Brad Pitt in the role that won him an Oscar, will have a two-week Imax run beginning Nov. 25 ahead of its Netflix debut Dec. 23.(Crucially, Brad Bird’s “Ray Gunn” will not be in theaters.)
Previously, things like the “Stranger Things” series finale and “KPop Demon Hunters” had limited theatrical engagements.
The official synopsis for “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory” is as follows: “Willy Wonka (Waititi) has spent the years since the Golden Ticket contest behind bars (not the chocolate kind) for the crime of turning a child into a blueberry. Having served his time, Wonka returns to his factory determined to add a little sweetness to a bitter world. But one thing stands in his way: teenager Charlie Paley (Connor) and his friends. Facing eviction, this next generation of “rotten” kids plot to break into the factory, nab a priceless Wonka Bar, and save their homes. But like many before them who enter the fantastical world of the factory, these kids are in for a bit more than they can chew…”
“Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory” was directed by Jared Stern and Elaine Bogan and produced by Aron Warner and Timothy Yoo. Waititi serves as an executive producer.
Visit the chocolate factory in theaters on Nov. 5, 2027, and on Netflix Dec. 22, 2027.
