Tracking Data Shows Strong Interest for Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ Ahead of 2026 Release
Early audience tracking data suggests that Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia adaptation is registering well with general audiences less than a year ahead of release.
The data, provided by Greenlight Analytics, offers an early look of awareness and interest for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew among films currently tracked for 2026.
What The Data Measures
The figures come from The Quorum (via What’s On Netflix), which conducts regular pre-release tracking surveys to measure how audiences perceive upcoming films. In the most recent round, approximately 2,000 respondents leaving movie theatres were surveyed about a range of upcoming film and streaming titles.
Quorum’s tracking focuses on several key metrics:
- Awareness: Whether respondents are aware that the movie exists or is in development.
- Interest: Whether respondents express a desire to watch the film after being presented with basic information such as the premise, creative team and cast involved, and any available trailers.
- Theatrical Intent: Willingness to see the film in theatres, if given the option.
- Willingness to Pay: Counts respondents willing to spend money in some form to see the film. This includes a theatrical ticket, rental or purchase, or subscribing to a service specifically to watch it.
In the latest survey, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew posted the following results:
| Awareness | 38% |
| Interest | 47% |
| Theatrical Intent | 37% |
| Willingness to Pay | 51% |
Among the Netflix titles surveyed, The Magician’s Nephew emerged as the most recognized overall and recorded one of the strongest interest scores. Interest is particularly high among younger respondents (under 35), where it rises to 51%, and the data shows a slight male skew among those interested.
How Does Narnia Compare?
Direct comparisons between long-lead theatrical releases and streaming titles are not always easy, as marketing timelines and audience exposure can differ significantly. For example, Avatar: Fire and Ash currently tracks at 76% awareness and 56% interest. However, in July, just weeks before its first trailer dropped, interest sat at 47%, nearly identical to where Narnia stands now.
Looking at other major franchise releases currently tracked for 2026, Narnia holds up well in terms of interest and willingness to pay, even as awareness varies widely across titles.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey currently has 33% awareness and 45% interest, with 39% expressing a theatrical intent and 50% willing to pay. Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu posts similar awareness at 30% and slightly lower interest at 41%, alongside 38% theatrical intent and 48% willingness to pay.
Among the higher-profile franchise entries, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping leads the group with 43% awareness and 47% interest, while 44% indicate theatrical intent and 55% willingness to pay. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is registering 45% awareness, 49% interest, 43% theatrical intent, and 52% willingness to pay.
A more directly comparable set comes from 2025 Netflix films that had limited theatrical releases, like Narnia, tracked in the week immediately ahead of debut:
- Frankenstein: 39% awareness, 45% interest, 34% theatrical intent
- Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man: 29% awareness, 44% interest, 32% theatrical intent
- Jay Kelly: 20% awareness, 34% interest, 25% theatrical intent
What the Tracking Data Suggests So Far
Early tracking numbers can be misleading if viewed in isolation, since audience interest often shifts (for better or worse) as marketing ramps up. At this stage, the data should not be read as predictive of viewership totals or long-term success.
What it does offer is a snapshot of where Gerwig’s Narnia stands relative to other major films on the 2026 calendar. Awareness remains solid, and interest is quite strong for a project still ahead of its marketing rollout. Taken together, the data would suggest that early controversies have yet to meaningfully register with general audiences.
Any evaluation of the film’s eventual performance will need to account for its limited theatrical window and screen count, which makes direct comparisons to earlier Narnia releases or traditional box-office models less straightforward.
While this tracking data captures general sentiment, you can listen to a few fan perspectives in a recent episode of Talking Beasts: The Narnia Podcast, which discusses expectations with one year to go.
The film is scheduled to debut in 1,000 IMAX screens worldwide on November 26, 2026.
What do you make of these early numbers? Let us know your reaction by leaving a comment below.
That’s very good to hear that this movie has such high anticipation, even when there’s been no marketing at all, or much hype in the broader landscape. I think people here need to remember that we all are the niche of the niche, and as such the controversies and issues that are being hotly debated here are just not relevant to the general crowd.
I’m eagerly looking forward to when the marketing starts and the trailer drops! I’m really hoping that this movie goes well, because its reception will impact the future of the franchise. Fingers crossed!
I find it incredibly eye-opening that Netflix’s Narnia has more awareness, interest, and willingness to pay than a film like The Odyssey.
I’d say that’s due to a combination of goodwill/appeal that Greta Gerwig carries and the multi-generational appeal of Narnia.
To me, it is surprising that there is 38% awareness of this movie. I am definitely embedded in the Narniweb bubble, so it feels like only we are aware. However, upon second thoughts, I have seen articles come up on other websites like Collider/ScreenRant and Not the Bee. So of course the news is out there.
This is good to hear. Comparatively, Netflix lacks options in child friendly content. Even if it changes everything we love, if it stays family appropriate, it could have a lot of popularity.
I pray that the child actors are shielded from the pressure. It seems there is a lot of pressure on this movie to be Netflix’s next big thing.
Greta Gerwig’s Narnia project is already generating a strong sense of curiosity, and for good reason. Her ability to tell emotionally grounded, character-driven stories paired with an iconic fantasy world like Narnia makes this adaptation feel genuinely promising. At the same time, expectations are understandably high, as Narnia is more than just a fantasy franchise — it’s a story with deep emotional and literary roots. Ultimately, everything will come down to execution. If the storytelling is handled with care and the world-building feels rich and authentic, this could easily become one of the most memorable fantasy releases of 2026.
Just coming back to this, I feel like this movie will be far more successful (financially speaking) than a lot want to believe. Ultimately, all the maters is the movie itself, but I don’t like the idea of wanting Narnia movies to flop. It just leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths, and I think makes them less likely to read the books, whereas even a poor adaptation that is received well to most makes the book look more appealing to new readers. Hopefully that makes sense.
This would be a super helpful metric to keep an eye on leading into the release and to see what changes once marketing starts up. Hopefully we’ll like what we see!