Why Alan Ritchson’s War Machine Wasn’t Released in Theaters Revealed
Erin Westerman, the President at Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, detailed in a new interview why War Machine debuted on Netflix and not in theaters. Featuring Alan Ritchson of Reacher fame, the movie came out on the streaming giant on March 6, 2026, following its theatrical release in Australia on February 12, 2026. It has since drawn considerable viewership on Netflix.
Lionsgate boss explains why War Machine came out on Netflix
The veteran producer recently disclosed why the sci-fi action film premiered on Netflix in the US.
“Our intention was to make it theatrically, and then when our sales team went out to start conversations with the international buyers, the streaming market was just so frothy that we had a conversation with Todd Lieberman, our producing partner, with Alan Ritchson, our star, about the fact that this was a really viable option for it, and we all chose together to go to Netflix,” Erin Westerman stated to TheWrap.
In the same interview, Westerman clarified that all this happened after Reacher debuted on Prime Video. When asked why the team behind War Machine selected Netflix over any other streamer, she said, “I would say first and foremost passion.”
The Lionsgate executive noted that they “could have made it theatrically” or “could have taken it to one of the other streamers that were bidding on it.” She elaborated, “But their [Netflix’s] passion won out, and they were tremendous partners. And it was a negative pickup for them, so the movie was greenlit, and they just jumped in as the distributor.”
Following its release, War Machine drew mostly positive reviews from professional critics and currently has a 69% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also holds the top spot on Netflix’s Top 10 movies chart, according to FlixPatrol.
Patrick Hughes directed War Machine. Besides Ritchson, the cast includes Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Keiynan Lonsdale, and Daniel Webber.
Source: Comingsoon.net