Next year, Netflix plans on opening two theme park-like experiences, which will feature restaurants, shops and rides tied to the streaming company’s most popular shows.
On Tuesday, Netflix announced the project, which will be headed to two shopping malls, one in Dallas, Texas, the other in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
The company describes these “Netflix Houses” as experimental entertainment venues designed to bring the most popular Netflix franchises to life. For example, consumers could buy merchandise from a store devoted to Stranger Things, eat a dessert at a restaurant styled after the show Bridgerton, and battle zombies in a gaming area for the Netflix movie Army of the Dead.
(Credit: Netflix)The company has already been experimenting with the concept, including through pop-up restaurants, experiences, and stores. Netflix now wants to bring the experiences together in a larger venue that’ll operate year-round. "We’ve launched more than 50 experiences in 25 cities, and Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings,” says Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee.
The news makes us wonder if Netflix might have ambitions to one day launch a venue similar to Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. But for now, the company has settled on bringing Netflix to existing indoor retail space at the two shopping malls.
“Both Netflix Houses will occupy former department store locations and span footprints of more than 100,000 square feet,” Netflix added. The company selected the two shopping malls, citing the foot traffic and existing presence of hundreds of retailers.