Netflix’s best picture nominee ‘Roma’ won’t be at most theaters

Netflix’s critically acclaimed film “Roma” may have landed the streaming platform its first ever best picture Academy Award nomination, but that doesn’t mean it will be headed to the big screen.

In the wake of the annual Oscar nominations, best picture films tend to resurface at theaters across the U.S. for casual moviegoers to catch before the big awards ceremony. Many of these films previously had limited releases or hit theaters around the same time as big budget blockbusters.

While “Roma” did grace some theaters for a brief period in November and December — a requirement to be considered for Oscar contention — the film has predominantly been viewed on Netflix’s streaming platform. And it’s likely to remain that way.

AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas have both declined to show “Roma” at their theaters following the Oscar nominations Tuesday.

“For more than a decade, movie lovers have enjoyed the AMC Best Picture Showcase to catch up on the nominated films that played at AMC throughout the prior year,” the company said in a statement. “This year, Academy members nominated a film that was never licensed to AMC to play in our theaters. As such, it is not included in the AMC Best Picture Showcase.”

In a separate announcement, Regal did not include “Roma” in its slate for its annual Best Picture Film Festival.

The slight could be attributed to Netflix’s break with theatrical release tradition.

Traditionally, Hollywood studios, and even Amazon, have adopted 90-day theatrical release window, which means the film will run in theaters for that time period before being available on video-on-demand or on a streaming service’s site or app.

“Roma” rolled out to theaters on Nov. 21 and was released to Netflix’s streaming service on Dec. 14.

So, if you want to see “Roma” before the Academy Awards in February, you’ll need to catch it on Netflix.

The picture did tick all the boxes of the Academy’s eligibility requirements, which state that a film must run at least seven consecutive days at a commercial theater in Los Angeles County and be shown at least three times a day, with at least one screening between the hours of 6 p.m and 10 p.m.