Benedict Cumberbatch calls out Netflix over The Power of the Dog's 'perfunctory' release

Benedict Cumberbatch attends the Virgin TV BAFTA Television Awards at The Royal Festival Hall on May 14, 2017 in London, England. Photo / Getty Images

Benedict Cumberbatch has called out Netflix over its "perfunctory" cinematic release of "The Power of the Dog".

The 45-year-old actor stars alongside Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smith-McPhee in the Western psychological drama film and was not impressed it was only screened in cinemas for two weeks before it was made available on the streaming service.

He said: "If I'm in the belly of the beast, then surely I can start asking questions of it.

"The key question is this: Why did Netflix give the film such a perfunctory run in theatres?"

The "Sherlock" star went on to directly address bosses of the streaming giant, questioning whether the limited theatrical release was down to financial reasons.

He told Vanity Fair magazine: "This is for Scott [Stuber] and Ted [Sarandos] and everyone who runs Netflix: Could you not afford to have a longer theatrical release? Maybe not. I don't know. I'm positioning this as a question publicly in Vanity Fair. I haven't actually had this conversation with them, but I would and I will.

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"Unless you have a Marvel star, financing any film is very, very, very, very difficult — no matter how important the story, no matter how urgent the story, no matter how talented and awarded and appreciated the artist is."

In "The Power of the Dog", Cumberbatch - who is married to theatre director Sophie Hunter and has Christopher, 6, Hal, 4 and Finn, 3, with her - plays closeted ranch owner Phil Burbank, who develops a nasty streak when his brother marries a widow and she brings her effeminate son to live with them in 1920s Montana.

Cumberbatch - who has been nominated for an Oscar for his role in the movie - also explained that despite being a straight man, his lived experience is not completely different to that of his character.

He said: "While my lived experience is very far from Phil Burbank's, that's not to say that all of it is. I don't want to sound defensive because I'm not. This is coming from a cultural questioning of appropriation, and that's something I'm very supportive of as a producer and an actor."