Netflix is giving awards contender “La Bola Negra” a 47-day exclusive theatrical window in North America, its longest to date, moving the film’s cinema opening forward three weeks to October 16 before it arrives on the streaming service December 2. The Spanish-language drama from Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, collectively known as Los Javis, was acquired by Netflix for the U.S. following its Cannes competition premiere, where the filmmakers shared the Best Director prize with Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland.” Netflix has since acquired Canadian rights as well.

The window marks a significant step beyond Netflix’s previous prestige releases. “Marriage Story” received a 30-day window in 2019, while “The Irishman” had 27 days and “Roma” roughly three weeks. Netflix is becoming more ambitious theatrically elsewhere, too: David Fincher’s upcoming film has a two-week exclusive IMAX engagement planned, while Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is scheduled for a conventional theatrical rollout next year with a 49-day window. “La Bola Negra” has plenty working in its favor as a theatrical proposition, including its Cannes pedigree, Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close in the ensemble, a Toronto Special Presentations slot and legitimate year-end awards prospects.

Rather than spend the next few months parsing whether Netflix has suddenly found theatrical religion, exhibitors might be better served racing to make this theatrical-first strategy work. Book it, market it and keep it playing for as long as audiences show up. Ideally, Netflix should resist reminding moviegoers every five minutes that they can simply wait until December 2. Let the theatrical campaign create awareness, cultural relevance and awards momentum, then put “La Bola Negra” front and center on Netflix over the holidays. If it ultimately becomes a streaming hit because it first became a theatrical success, Netflix may rediscover something it arguably benefited from all the way back in its DVD-by-mail days: movie theaters can be one hell of a marketing platform.