Culture news Netflix may have a series of failures (hello Rebel Moon), they want to persist in the same direction
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We cannot say that the latest films produced by Netflix have been very successful. Despite a substantial budget which will probably never be profitable, the boss of Netflix does not intend to produce fewer films.
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Netflix: Despite the failures, there is no question of changing sides!
The latest feature films produced by Netflix have not all had the expected success. Indeed, the latest disappointments are the films of Zack Snyder, Rebel Moon 1 & 2. The two films that cost $166 million to the streaming platform do not achieve figures proportional to the money invested. It is not the only example, the films Red Notice Or Agent Stone are far from being unanimous among fans. Yet Red Notice had everything of a banger film, including Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds to the casting. $200 million was spent making this film, making it the most expensive production in Netflix history. Although not all the fans were hooked, the platform considers this investment profitable because the star casting helps attract subscribers.
This reaction reflects the general state of mind at Netflix and its boss, Ted Sarandos, about the success of its films. However, this position created some tensions within the American company. In January 2024, Scott Stuber, head of Netflix films, decides to leave his post. The reasons for his departure are multiple, but one of them concerns the overproduction of films on the platform each year. Indeed, the former director very rightly emphasized that quantity was taking precedence over quality feature films produced. It is simply impossible to implement quality control worthy of the name until Netflix lowers its production rate. After the departure of Scott Stuber, Dan Lin took over the position and suddenly he turned everything upside down…
A new way of doing things, an impact on results?
The new head of films, Dan Lin, nevertheless understood the issues that his predecessor was trying to raise. Barely arrived, he decided to reorganize everything within the service. To find consistency, he rearranged the production teams by genre and no longer by budget. This decision does not mean that Netflix plans to make fewer films for less money. However, this is what the New York Times “the goal is to make Netflix movies better, cheaper, and less frequent”, according to Dan Lin. However, the boss of the platform, Ted Sarandos broke the silence and denied the information during the balance sheet call for the first quarter of 2024.
“These were not Dan's words, and I would like to point out that we were not involved in the development of this article. There is no desire to make fewer films. […] But there is an unlimited desire to always make better films, even if we have made and are making great films, we want to make them better, of course. -Ted Sarandos
The ambition is clear: continue to produce films while offering more quality. The latest outings are not really reassuring but the latest decisions taken by Dan Lin can leave glimpse a brighter future. The platform wants to remain number 1 in film production as was the case in 2023 with 49 productions against 20 for Amazon. More movies, more action and better quality are the watchwords for Netflix!