The film centers on park rangers and the gorillas they protect 
 
 Netflix is teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio to release the documentary Virunga. 
 
 The film from director Orlando von Einsiedel centers on the conflict between park rangers striving to protect endangered gorillas from poachers and industry encroaching on their habitats in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
 
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 The doc will be release simultaneously on Netflix and in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 7. 
 
 “Leo intuitively understands that there is nothing like the power of film to reach people’s hearts and minds,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos in a statement. “With Virunga, we’ll work with Leo to introduce viewers around the world to an incredible, gripping story that will have audiences guessing right up until the final act.” 
 
 DiCaprio serves as executive producer, with his production company Appian Way also on board. 
 
 "Films like Virunga are powerful stories that are a window into the incredible cultural and natural diversity of our world, the forces that are threatening to destroy it, and the people who are fighting to protect it," DiCaprio said. "Partnering with Netflix on this film is an exciting opportunity to inform and inspire individuals to engage on this topic." 
 
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 The deal raises the stakes even more in the battle between theater owners and Netflix. Exhibitors have already expressed their displeasure over Netflix's plans to partner with The Weinstein Co. to release the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on the streaming service and in select Imax theaters on Aug. 28, 2015. 
 
 Netflix also recently announced a deal to exclusively release four features from Adam Sandler. ||||| Story highlights "VIRUNGA" is a documentary about park rangers protecting mountain gorillas in Africa 
 
 It has won numerous awards, and now will be distributed in select theaters and via Netflix 
 
 The documentary is executive produced by acclaimed actor Leonardo DiCaprio 
 
 What do you get when you combine gorillas, Leonard DiCaprio and Netflix? 
 
 A hit, the media company hopes. 
 
 Netflix announced Friday that it will team up with DiCaprio -- who it described as a "an actor, producer and philanthropist" -- to distribute a documentary film entitled "VIRUNGA," about the quest to save endangered mountain gorillas in the eastern Congo park by that name. 
 
 "With VIRUNGA, we'll work with Leo to introduce viewers around the world to an incredible, gripping story that will have audiences guessing right up until the final act," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer. 
 
 The fact Netflix is getting behind a high-profile production is nothing new. After all, it has produced the critically acclaimed series "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," not to mention the reboot of "Arrested Development." 
 
 Leonardo DiCaprio is a celebrated actor and philanthropist. 
 
 But what makes this unique is that it's a film, not a series, and it will come out in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on November 7. That's the same day "VIRUNGA," which is directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, will roll out on Netflix as well. 
 
 According to its website, the film chronicles how a "a small and embattled team of park rangers -- including an ex-child soldier turned ranger, a carer of orphan gorillas and a Belgian conservationist -- protect (Virunga National Park) from armed militia, poachers and the dark forces struggling to control Congo's rich natural resources." 
 
 "VIRUNGA" hasn't been distributed widely, but it has racked up a number of awards from the likes of the Tribeca Film Festival, DOXA and American Film Institute. 
 
 DiCaprio, its executive producer, called the partnership with Netflix "an exciting opportunity to inform and inspire individuals to engage on this topic." 
 
 "Films like VIRUNGA are powerful stories that are a window into the incredible cultural and natural diversity of our world, the forces that are threatening to destroy it, and the people who are fighting to protect it," the actor added. 
 
 Mountain gorillas are a subspecies of the eastern gorilla discovered in 1902 and imperiled in recent days by war, hunting, disease and other threats. There are a little less than 800 of them in the wild now, according to the World Wildlife Fund, about half of those in the Virunga Mountains bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. 
 
 A child actor who broke through on the sitcom "Growing Pains" and became an international sensation after the film "Titanic," DiCaprio is one of Hollywood's most respected and bankable actors. From the 1990s through today, he has starred in such films as "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator," "Catch Me If You Can" and more recently "The Wolf of Wall Street." 
 
 He has also developed a reputation, and tried to break ground, outside the cinematic world. He is an activist on issues ranging from protecting elephants and tigers to safeguarding habitats in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and climate change. He made remarks at a United Nations summit last month on that subject. 
 
 In September, the Clinton Global Initiative, an effort led by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, gave DiCaprio one of its "Global Citizen" awards. 
 
 "Through grantmaking, public campaigns and media projects, DiCaprio has worked to bring much-needed attention and funding to three focus areas—protecting biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation, and climate change," that organization says on its website. "... DiCaprio uses digital media to inform and inspire the public, offering them ways to take action on an array of issues—from protecting sharks in California and elephants in Africa to supporting the transition of our society to clean, renewable energy."
– Netflix's latest celebrity collaborator is Leonardo DiCaprio, reports CNN. But instead of starring in something a la Kevin Spacey in House of Cards, DiCaprio is serving as executive producer of a documentary on endangered mountain gorillas in Africa. The film, called Virunga after the park in eastern Congo where it is filmed, will be released Nov. 7 on Netflix, the same day it comes out in theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film follows park rangers as they try to fend off poachers, says the Hollywood Reporter. "We’ll work with Leo to introduce viewers around the world to an incredible, gripping story," says a Netflix exec. The company also recently signed up Adam Sandler to star in four movies.