Army Of The Dead From Zack Snyder Will Play In 600 Theaters Before Netflix Release

Netflix has worked out a deal with movie theater chains to bring the upcoming Zack Snyder movie Army of the Dead to cinemas before it's released on the streaming service. According to Variety, Army of the Dead will be available exclusively in US theaters starting May 14 for a period of one week before it comes to Netflix for all subscribers on May 21.

US movie chain Cinemark has booked the movie for 200 of its locations, according to Variety. The movie will also be available to watch at smaller theater chains such as Alamo Drafthouse, Harkins, Cinepolis, and iPic. AMC and Regal, two massive chains in the US, won't have Army of the Dead.

Army of the Dead will become the first Netflix movie ever to have a "wide" release at a major chain; in this case it's Cinemark.

"Cinemark is excited to work with Netflix on our first wide release and provide movie lovers the opportunity to see Army of the Dead in our theatres across the U.S.," Cinemark executive Justin McDaniel said. "Zack Snyder fans will love seeing the action in an immersive, cinematic environment with larger-than-life sight and sound technology."

For its part, Netflix boss Spencer Klein pointed out that Netflix conducted limited-run tests at Cinemark for some of its movies, such as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Midnight Sky, and The Christmas Chronicles 2. Klein said those movies succeeded and Netflix is "looking forward to the wider theatrical release of Army of the Dead."

"Army of the Dead takes place following a zombie outbreak that has left Las Vegas in ruins and walled off from the rest of the world. When Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), a former zombie war hero who’s now flipping burgers on the outskirts of the town he now calls home, is approached by casino boss Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada), it's with the ultimate proposition: break into the zombie-infested quarantine zone to retrieve $200 million sitting in a vault beneath the strip before the city is nuked by the government in 32 hours," reads a line from the film's description "With little left to lose, Ward takes on the challenge, assembling a ragtag team of experts for the heist. With a ticking clock, a notoriously impenetrable vault, and a smarter, faster horde of Alpha zombies closing in, only one thing's for certain in the greatest heist ever attempted: survivors take all."

The movie also stars Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi, Samantha Win, Michael Cassidy, Richard Cetrone, and Garret Dillahunt.