Movies

Here's when Netflix's awards hopefuls will hit theaters ahead of streaming

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Published on October 18, 2019 04:45PM EDT

Streaming giant Netflix is taking its awards season strategy to theaters for another consecutive year.

To qualify for Academy Awards consideration, the digital-focused company will release its most prominent fall movie titles — those likeliest to gain traction in the Oscar race ahead — to theaters well ahead of the respective titles' planned streaming debut dates, meaning you can watch films like Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, and Craig Brewer's Dolemite Is My Name on the big screen before you attempt to watch them, uh, on your phone.

Last year, Netflix's film chief Scott Stuber said the brand's "priority is our members and our filmmakers," and that members will "benefit from having the best quality films from world class filmmakers, and our filmmakers benefit by being able to share their artistry with the largest possible audience in over 190 countries worldwide" thanks to the theatrical push.

The initiative also ensures Netflix's awards hopefuls are eligible for Oscar consideration. Academy rules currently require prospective feature films to run for one week in Los Angeles area theater to qualify for a Best Picture nomination. Last year, Netflix bolstered the streaming releases of films like Roma, Bird Box, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs with theatrical runs — eventually pushing Roma to hundreds of screens across the country before it won filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón Oscars for cinematography and directing.

Until Roma, Netflix had yet to receive a nomination for Best Picture. The streaming giant has clashed with major exhibitors and film festivals over its digitally-focused rollout in the past, previously backing out of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival after the French cinema event announced it wouldn't host screenings for films that didn't commit to screenings in French theaters.

Read on to see when Netflix's upcoming high-profile releases will be released in American theaters in the weeks ahead.