Netflix has picked up the international distribution rights to The Gallerist, the dark comedy from Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan starring Natalie Portman and Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega. It’s set to arrive on Netflix internationally on December 4th, 2026, the same day it opens in US theatres. That means international subscribers will be able to watch it at home from day one, while US viewers will have to look elsewhere.
Although the movie won’t be carried as a Netflix Original title, it’s being licensed in most major international regions including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and most other regions (you can search it in your Netflix right now and if it pops up, it’s heading to you!).
That day-and-date release is the most interesting part of the deal. Films Netflix licenses from other studios usually reach the service months after their theatrical run. Here, subscribers outside the US get The Gallerist on the same day American audiences can first see it in cinemas.
The addition to Netflix in some capacity isn’t a complete surprise. Netflix has been quietly involved in the project one way or another for well over a year at this point (Netflix never acknowledged), although the movie ultimately went down a different distribution path in the US rather than being fully at Netflix.
What is The Gallerist about?
The movie is set during Art Basel Miami. Portman plays Polina Polinski, an ambitious gallery owner hanging on to the edge of elite society. She’s fresh out of a nasty separation from her wealthy ex-husband (Sterling K. Brown) and in serious financial trouble, with everything riding on her gallery’s solo show for up-and-coming artist Stella Burgess (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). When an influencer dies accidentally in her gallery, she and her assistant Kiki (Ortega) decide to keep the body where it is and present it as the centrepiece of the show. Things spiral from there as influencers and the police both close in.
Yan co-wrote the screenplay with James Pedersen, and MRC is the studio behind it, with Portman also on board as a producer. Yan and Portman were reportedly spotted walking the aisles of Art Basel Paris as research for the role.
Wednesday fans will get a reunion here: Catherine Zeta-Jones, who plays Morticia Addams opposite Ortega on the Netflix series, co-stars as part of an ensemble that also includes Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis and Daniel Brühl.
Then there’s Charli XCX, who plays the dead influencer’s girlfriend. The Gallerist was one of three films she had at Sundance this year as an actor, alongside the mockumentary The Moment and Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex.
What are critics saying about The Gallerist?
The Gallerist had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 24th, and critics were split (you can see the full breakdown on Rotten Tomatoes).
On the positive side, Screen Daily praised Portman, Ortega and Zeta-Jones for “displaying meticulous timing,” while Inverse declared that “it doesn’t get much campier.” Others were far less kind. The Guardian called it a “tiring art world caper,” and The Daily Beast labelled it a “tediously unoriginal parody.”
Will The Gallerist be on Netflix in the US?
Not anytime soon. US rights went to Roadside Attractions and Vertical, which bought the film jointly in August. They’ll release it in US theatres on December 4th, 2026.
We don’t know yet where the movie will stream in the US once its theatrical run ends. Roadside Attractions signed a multi-year deal in 2022 that sends its films to Hulu in the first streaming window after cinemas, so that’s one possibility. Vertical titles have previously gone to Netflix in the US through output and licensing deals, though, so we wouldn’t rule Netflix out entirely down the line.
It’s undoubtedly a good fit for Netflix. Ortega is one of the service’s biggest stars thanks to Wednesday, with a third season on the way, and Portman picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Netflix’s May December.
Are you looking forward to watching The Gallerist on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
