Netflix take a hand to save New York’s ‘Paris Theater’

Netflix announced on Monday that it had signed a lease agreement to run the last single-screen theater in New York City, the Paris Theatre.

The 71-year-old art house closed earlier this year after the previous lease expired.

The streaming giant reopened it earlier this month to give its acclaimed Noah Baumbach movie, “Marriage Story,” starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, an Oscar-season theatrical run.

But it would seem that Netflix had bigger plans.

“Now, the iconic theater will be kept open and become a home for special Netflix events, screenings, and theatrical releases,” the company said Monday in a series of Twitter messages.

The details of the deal were not disclosed, but industry site Deadline Hollywood said it was a 10-year lease agreement.

Netflix has been in a low-grade battle with traditional Hollywood for some time over the Oscar eligibility requirements that films in contention run in regular theaters for a certain period of time.

But many major theater chains have refused to deal with Netflix unless it consents to longer runs of its films — and a longer waiting period between any film´s theatrical release and its streaming debut.

Currently, the waiting period generally agreed upon by studios and the major chains is 90 days.

Now going forward, Netflix said it would use the space for “special events, screenings, and theatrical releases of its films.”

The Paris has been a staple of the arts in New York City since actress Marlene Dietrich cut the grand opening ribbon back in 1948.

Until recently, almost every notable art house movie had played at the space, located on West 58th Street in Manhattan, just across the street from The Plaza hotel.