{"id":14149,"date":"2025-08-16T17:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T17:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/16\/netflix-builds-cinemas-restaurants-and-entertainment-houses-for-fans\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T17:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T17:01:13","slug":"netflix-builds-cinemas-restaurants-and-entertainment-houses-for-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/16\/netflix-builds-cinemas-restaurants-and-entertainment-houses-for-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix Builds Cinemas, Restaurants and Entertainment Houses for Fans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Squid Game characters are seen during Netflix BITES Vegas press preview event on Feb. 10, 2025 in Las Vegas. Getty Images for Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When director David Fincher<\/a>\u2019s Netflix<\/a> film The Killer<\/em> premiered in 2023, Jessica Carmona didn\u2019t watch Michael Fassbender\u2019s hitman from her couch. Instead, she saw it on the big screen at the newly renovated Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, a century-old movie palace Netflix had just restored. Carmona, a Los Angeles native and music industry manager, experienced the two-hour thriller as part of a sold-out crowd enjoying the communal magic of cinema inside the splendor of <\/span>a Hollywood landmark.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI love that they preserved its history without going over the top. It still feels like old Hollywood, but with a fresh polish,\u201d Carmon told Observer<\/span>.<\/b> \u201cTo me, that balance is the most \u2018Netflix\u2019 thing about it\u2014modern but mindful of story and legacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The irony is hard to miss. For more than a decade, Netflix has trained its subscribers to stay home and binge\u2014disrupting the theatrical model and hastening the decline of physical media. Now the streamer is moving in the opposite direction, opening and operating physical spaces of its own. And the effort goes well beyond a single historic theatre. From theme restaurants to massive \u201cexperience centers\u201d planned for later this year, Netflix is looking to become part of its subscribers\u2019 offline lives, too.<\/p>\n

Netflix expands into the real world<\/b><\/h3>\n

Beyond the Egyptian, Netflix also operates the refurbished Paris Theatre in New York, the last remaining single-screen theater in Manhattan. These venues give the streamer a place to host premieres, program prestige screenings and stage awards-qualifying runs.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian, which first opened in 1922 at the height of the silent film era, is steeped in Hollywood history. It earned its place in film lore as the site of the industry\u2019s first movie premiere: Robin Hood<\/em>, starring Douglas Fairbanks. In New York, the Paris Theatre had been a cultural fixture for more than 70 years before closing in 2019; Netflix reopened the 500-plus-seat venue in August 2021.<\/p>\n

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The restored historic Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles. Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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(L-R) Adam Brody and Kristen Bell attend Netflix\u2019s Nobody Wants This<\/em> NY Fan Screening at The Paris Theatre on Sept. 23, 2024 in New York City. Jamie McCarthy\/Getty Images for Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Netflix\u2019s ambitions extend far beyond cinema. In February, it launched Netflix Bites<\/span><\/a>, a brightly designed, Netflix-themed restaurant inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There, fans can order Bridgerton<\/em>\u2013inspired tea service or take on a Squid Game<\/em> food challenge involving a spin wheel that decides which sauce accompanies their chicken. Neon wall signs greet patrons with messages like \u201cAre You Still Hungry?\u201d (a play on the streamer\u2019s familiar \u201cAre you still watching?\u201d prompt), <\/span>while the menu features tongue-in-cheek items like a Stranger Things<\/em> jalape\u00f1o-and-pineapple pan pizza and a three-tier \u201cRegency Tea\u201d complete with scones, sandwiches and pastries.<\/p>\n

To stir early buzz, Netflix flew in influencers like Karissa Dumbacher, whose KarissaEats YouTube channel has 4.3 million subscribers. \u201cThe restaurant was so cute, especially if you\u2019re a fan of these shows. I would definitely recommend it for a cute dinner spot,\u201d she said in a video review.<\/a> But reaction since has been mixed: one Facebook reviewer dismissed the food as \u201cmediocre, nothing out of the ordinary,<\/a>\u201d while a Reddit commenter said, \u201cThe entrance was BY FAR the coolest part. Food was meh quality<\/a> for strip price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later this year, Netflix plans to open two 100,000-square-foot \u201cNetflix House<\/a>\u201d entertainment complexes in Dallas and Philadelphia, with immersive sets from Stranger Things<\/em> and One Piece<\/em>, themed games and exclusive merchandise. A third Netflix House is slated for the Las Vegas Strip in 2027. In a nod to its DVD-by-mail days, visitors will enter each venue through a giant red envelope.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is fandom coming to life, where you can actually step inside the worlds you\u2019ve been watching and loving for years\u2014whether going on an epic adventure with the Straw Hats, taking a journey into Hawkins, Indiana, or grabbing a cocktail inspired by your latest obsession,\u201d Netflix CMO Marian Lee<\/a> said <\/span>in a statement<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The entrance of Netflix Bites inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas. RONDA CHURCHILL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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An Illustration of the \u201cNetflix House\u201d entertainment complex in Philadelphia. Courtesy Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mirroring the Disney model<\/b><\/h3>\n

Developments like these push Netflix closer to the Disney playbook\u2014mining intellectual property for experiences, merchandise and events that monetize fan passion far beyond the screen. A trip to Netflix House isn\u2019t just about tickets or food; it\u2019s about buying into a community that algorithms alone can\u2019t create.<\/p>\n

Still, the offline pivot comes with risk. Operating venues is costly and complex. Theaters need programming that consistently fills seats, and experience centers must reinvent themselves to keep visitors returning. And, unlike streaming, these ventures are tied to geography\u2014success in Dallas or Las Vegas doesn\u2019t automatically translate worldwide.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s clear is that this is more than a branding stunt. Netflix\u2019s real-world experiments arrive at a moment of intense competition, as Wall Street presses for clarity on the company\u2019s next act. These spaces offer new revenue streams and deeper fan engagement\u2014high-margin extensions of hit IP that let audiences \u201clive\u201d a Netflix story instead of simply watch it.<\/p>\n

The Disney comparison is telling. While a Disney World trip may be a once-a-year event, Netflix wants its theaters, restaurants and entertainment centers to invite repeat visits. And if it feels like a stretch to suggest Netflix is eyeing the Magic Kingdom\u2019s crown, consider this:<\/p>\n

KPop Demon Hunters<\/em>, the K-pop\u2013themed animated musical that debuted on Netflix in June, has already become the streamer\u2019s second most-watched original movie<\/a> ever. By contrast, Pixar\u2019s Elio<\/em>, which hit theaters the same month, opened to just $20.8 million domestically\u2014the lowest debut in Pixar\u2019s history. KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> is even being floated as a Best Animated Feature contender, an Oscar Disney hasn\u2019t won in three years. Netflix, in other words, is challenging Disney on multiple fronts.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: the company that once taught us to stay home is now inviting subscribers out into a world of its own\u2014one where you might start with an episode of Wednesday<\/em> and end with a themed dinner, a piece of merch, and a photo under a marquee Netflix helped light up again.<\/p>\n

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