I disagree. And, further, I would be a LOT more sympathetic to them if they didn’t cry like little infants every time someone like Cannes or Spielberg called them out on their sham theatrical releases.
If they want to be a TV channel – then compete for Emmys.

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean it makes business sense. Successful businesses always keep the core mission front and center. Keep in mind that while traditional studios have standing distribution apparatus in place, Netflix does not. They would have to pay a third party a substantial percentage of any theatrical gross (not already claimed by the theaters) to handle bookings, distribution, and revenue collection. If Netflix (or Amazon for that matter) were the least bit interested in making theatrical distribution a significant facet of their businesses, they would be making a run for Fox studios if for no other reason than to acquire ready standing production and distribution capabilities (along with a fat library for the streaming end of the business.) But they didn’t.

As for Amazon, film is a branding sideshow. The entire streaming product is nothing more than a value added bonus to the prime shipping product which directly serves the core online retail business (which is where the money is!). Netflix doesn’t have that secondary capacity to monetize streaming customers through ancillary retail transactions. Consequently, the equivalent example to Netflix theatrical distribution would be if Amazon started opening general merchandise brick and mortar stores in every mall in order to compete with Walmart. Perhaps they could afford to do it, but it is off brand, very expensive, requires the pricey build of a secondary warehouse/distribution system to serve stores, and would drain considerable resources from Amazon’s overwhelming dominance in the online retail space.

In short, it would distract from the core mission, so they don’t do it.

1. Netflix is a billion dollar company. 2. If Amazon can do it, so can Netlfix (both billion dollar corporations). We aren’t talking about some tiny indie with an office the size of shoebox

Theatrical distribution is very expensive. Netflix could buy 4 more “Mudbounds” for the cost of promoting and releasing a single “Mudbound” on 1000+ screens.

Most mid-budget films cost more to promote and distribute theatrically than they cost to make but rarely return the $100+ million gross necessary to recoup that distribution investment. That is why studios almost exclusively concentrate on big budget tentpoles made with established IP and Netflix plays mostly in the mid-budget and indie space.

Another possibly is that Mudbound is a politically correct movie (directed by a woman and shot by one), and being the PC network that they are, he may be lying about its success for ideological reasons.