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We're surprised it took this long but Netflix is officially getting into the immersive experience world: the streaming giant has announced the opening of two massive entertainment venues—one at King of Prussia mall near Philadelphia, about a two-hour drive from midtown Manhattan, and the other at Dallas Galleria in Texas.
Both scheduled to open in 2025, the 10,000-square-foot Netflix Houses will basically be the company's version of a theme park, complete with set recreations, themed culinary offerings, shopping possibilities and more. Notably missing from the plans: in-house cinemas. Talk about diversification.
“At Netflix House, you can enjoy regularly updated immersive experiences, indulge in retail therapy, and get a taste—literally—of your favorite Netflix series and films through unique food and drink offerings,” Marian Lee, Netflix’s chief marketing officer, said in an official statement, specifically mentioning the various pop-up experiences that the company has set up throughout the country in the past. Netflix Houses will build on those concepts, serving as marketing tools to support the streaming business, according to Variety.
If you can't quite imagine the new spaces, which will be built inside former department store locations that are now empty, this might help: "Imagine waltzing with your partner to an orchestral cover of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the Bridgerton set—and then walking around the corner to compete in the Glass Bridge challenge from Squid Game," reads an official press release. "After pretending to fight for your life, you’ve worked up an appetite and want to get a bite. You see a nearby restaurant with food inspired by Netflix shows from around the world; the meal is memorable, but you still want to buy some Stranger Things merch. Luckily, there’s a shop that sells that Hellfire Club T-shirt you’ve always wanted."
Given the public's seemingly incessant hunger for all things immersive and the popularity of Netflix productions like Bridgerton and Stranger Things, among many others, we imagine the new Netflix Houses to be sure retail magnets adding sizable business opportunities to the streaming giant's portfolio, despite the absence of theater-like areas within the plans. Netflix clearly knows what it is doing.