Netflix released a new trailer on Friday, November 6, for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, even as a high-profile dispute over the film's theatrical window divides major cinema operators. Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher, the feature sees Brad Pitt reprise his Oscar-winning role as stuntman Cliff Booth in 1977 Los Angeles. While the preview highlights the character's post-1960s career struggles and lingering notoriety, the movie's late-November rollout has triggered a public disagreement between Imax CEO Rich Gelfond and major exhibition chains Cinemark and Regal, both of which are refusing to screen the picture ahead of its December streaming debut.

Inside the New Trailer: 1977 Hollywood and the Bruce Lee Legacy

Set eight years after the events of the 2019 original, the new footage catches up with Booth in 1977 as he looks for new employment following the end of his long-running partnership with actor Rick Dalton, previously played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

According to Yahoo Entertainment, Booth briskly explains away the split in the preview by noting of his former boss, "He got too fat."

Booth's job hunt gains traction when talent agent Karen Crosby, played by Elizabeth Debicki, reaches out on behalf of actor Charlie Peters, portrayed by Scott Caan. Because Peters performs his own stunts, the exact nature of the assignment remains a mystery until the trailer's final moments, which reveal that Peters has become entangled with Filipino gangsters and requires Booth's specific skill set to extract him from the scheme.

Rather than focusing solely on Booth and Dalton's violent survival against the Manson Family, the characters populating Fincher's 1977 landscape appear far more fixated on the stuntman's infamous backstage brawl with martial arts icon Bruce Lee, played by Mike Moh in the first film.

Both Peters' wife Toni, played by Carla Gugino, and Blaxploitation star Hot Rod Harrison, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, bring up the confrontation. While the original scene drew criticism upon its release for depicting Lee as a boastful combatant easily handled by Booth, the sequel's trailer shows Pitt's character attempting to downplay the incident, stating that it happened a long time ago and had been exaggerated over the years.

Theatrical Standoff: Why Cinemark and Regal Passed

Behind the scenes, the distribution strategy for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth marks Netflix's first-ever Imax release. The Thanksgiving corridor was originally reserved for Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew before Netflix moved that title to February, swapping in the Tarantino-scripted feature. However, the abbreviated theatrical exclusivity attached to Cliff Booth prompted the nation's second- and third-largest theater circuits, Regal and Cinemark, to reject the booking.

As a result, top exhibitor AMC Theatres stands as the only major U.S. chain carrying the film in Imax alongside select independent theaters screening it in standard formats.

During a third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, November 3, in which Cinemark Holdings reported total revenue rising to $1.05 billion compared to $857.5 million in the prior-year period, CEO Sean Gamble detailed why the company declined the title. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gamble pointed to the potential long-term fallout of accepting a truncated theatrical run.

"The Cliff Booth situation is an interesting one," Gamble said. "We book all of our films on a case-by-case situation. In that particular situation, we always look at things through a long-term lens and how certain precedents and things we might do could affect longer-term industry dynamics.

In this particular case, we don't believe the proposed release model is constructive for the broader theatrical ecosystem, and it's not aligned with what's of the greatest interest in our theaters."

Regal expressed a similar stance regarding its large-format auditoriums. In a statement obtained by Deadline, Brooks LeBoeuf, Senior Vice President of US Content at Regal Global Entertainment, noted that shortened windows directly impact allocation decisions by limiting big-screen opportunities. Both Cinemark and Regal confirmed they will instead dedicate their Imax footprints to the second weekend of Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, with Gamble noting that advance ticket sales for the prequel are "through the roof."

Imax CEO Pushes Back on Exhibitor Boycott

The refusal by two of the country's largest circuits drew a sharp rebuttal on Thursday, November 5, from Imax chief executive Rich Gelfond. Speaking during an earnings call, Gelfond questioned why major operators would pass on a high-profile collaboration involving Pitt, Tarantino, and Fincher.

"Frankly, I don't understand why anybody wouldn't play it," Gelfond said, according to Deadline. "If you're a circuit that has hundreds or thousands of screens, you could play Hunger Games on lots of screens, and you could play Cliff Booth on your Imax screens, and it's a win-win ... They have that flexibility if they want to use it."

Gelfond suggested that exhibitors were "standing on ceremony" over Netflix's release parameters, arguing that the debate over streaming windows is a battle that has already been fought. He pointed to the summer 2025 theatrical booking of KPop Demon Hunters Singalong, which Regal and Cinemark screened to strong returns despite the title having already been available on Netflix for over a month—a release that AMC had declined to play at the time.

Having viewed an extended clip of Cliff Booth, Gelfond predicted the movie will enjoy a surprisingly successful run while maintaining that chains had the capacity to accommodate both it and The Hunger Games.

What This Means for Moviegoing and Future Netflix Releases

For audiences hoping to catch The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth on the big screen, the industry standoff means theatrical availability will be strictly limited to AMC locations and independent venues. Furthermore, trade publications have presented differing reports regarding the exact calendar dates of the rollout. While TheWrap and Deadline's coverage of the Cinemark earnings call state that the film begins a two-week Imax engagement on November 25 ahead of a December 25 Netflix debut, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline's trailer report list a November 25 theatrical launch followed by a December 23 streaming premiere.

Meanwhile, Deadline's report on Gelfond's remarks describes a 27-day exclusive theatrical window beginning November 29 alongside a two-week Imax run.

Despite the friction over Cliff Booth, theater executives see signs of broader alignment with Netflix moving into 2027. Gamble noted that traditional studio commitments have largely settled at a minimum of 45 days—with major releases often holding 60-plus-day windows—and expressed optimism regarding Netflix's upcoming slate. The streamer has announced six films through November 2027 that will receive full theatrical releases backed by traditional marketing campaigns and publicly reported box office figures. follow-up titles followed by the streamer's recent platform launches of La Bola Negra and The Mosquito Bowl include Narnia: The Magician's Nephew in February—which reports describe as carrying a 45-day, seven-week, or 50-day theatrical window—and next holiday season's Charlie Vs The Chocolate Factory, which is slated for a 47-day window.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth be in theaters and on Netflix?

Industry reports vary slightly on the exact schedule. Most outlets report the theatrical and Imax run begins on November 25, 2026, for a two-week engagement, though one report cites a 27-day exclusive window starting November 29. Depending on the trade report, the film will debut on Netflix on either December 23 or December 25, 2026.

Which theaters are showing the Cliff Booth sequel?

Among the three largest U.S. theater chains, only AMC Theatres is screening the movie in Imax, joined by select independent theaters playing it in standard format. Both Cinemark and Regal declined to book the film due to its shortened theatrical window, opting to keep The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on their Imax screens.

How does the new film connect to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher, the film picks up in 1977, eight years after the original story. Brad Pitt returns as Cliff Booth, who is no longer working with Rick Dalton and gets pulled into a dangerous situation involving actor Charlie Peters (Scott Caan) and Filipino gangsters, while characters frequently bring up Booth's past fight with Bruce Lee.

Sources