As anticipation grows for the third installment in Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out murder mystery series, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix has revealed that the upcoming film will have a limited theatrical release before it premieres on the streamer.
According to Variety, Wake Up Dead Man will have a two-week run in select theaters across the U.S., starting on November 26 until December 12—the day the film premieres on Netflix. The movie stars former James Bond actor Daniel Craig, who reprises his role as investigator Benoit Blanc in what the movie teases as his most dangerous case yet. Joining Craig are an all-star cast including Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the film:
When young priest Jud Duplenticy (O’Connor) is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Brolin), it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. Wicks’s modest-but-devoted flock includes devout church lady Martha Delacroix (Close), circumspect groundskeeper Samson Holt (Haden Church), tightly-wound lawyer Vera Draven (Washington), aspiring politician Cy Draven (McCormack), town doctor Nat Sharp (Renner), best-selling author Lee Ross (Scott), and concert cellist Simone Vivane (Spaeny). After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott (Kunis) to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic.
Wake Up Dead Man‘s theatrical run continues a trend for Netflix: The streamer also released the second entry in the series, Glass Onion, for a limited time in cinemas, albeit for only a week. According to Variety, Netflix’s strategy for releasing Glass Onion in theaters was aimed at generating word-of-mouth buzz, so that those who did not get to see it would stream it on Netflix instead. And as Variety notes, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos once said the traditional movie theater model was “outdated,” and the irony of this decision is not lost on us.
⏰☠️ Wake Up Dead Man, the new Benoit Blanc mystery. Thanksgiving in theaters, 12/12 on Netflix. More to come very sooooooooooon…. pic.twitter.com/kd7gjISJAt
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) September 2, 2025
While Wake Up Dead Man will only be in theaters for two weeks, Johnson recently told Business Insider he hoped his film could run in theaters for even longer.
“We’re going to push for everything we can get in terms of theatrical, because I want as many people as possible to see it in that form,” Johnson told Business Insider.
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