A new Variety feature piece has Netflix’s movie chief Scott Stuber speaking extensively about the streaming giant’s ambitious film plans in the years to come.
Stuber took control of the streamer’s film division a few years ago. Thanks to his efforts, the service has gone from having released 21 original films total over multiple years, to releasing more than 70 films this year alone.
Not only is the quantity high, but the array of storytelling is wide as the service is “willing, even eager, to make movies that conventional studios would never produce”. As the public is really only turning out to cinemas for low-budget horror movies, sequels and superhero films anymore, the company has had to move forward with a wide range of original movies of varying genres and budgets.
Stuber, who has complete greenlight authority over movies at the streamer, says the goal for the biggest budget films on the service, such as the upcoming “Red Notice” which cost around $200 million to produce, is to draw an audience of more than 70 million viewers in its first four weeks.
For indie or smaller films, the expectations are different as those movies are allowed to gradually gain traction and build an audience.
Stuber says Netflix will continue to offer exclusive theatrical releases ranging from one week to just under four weeks for films coming out this year including Halle Berry’s “Bruised,” Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” and Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up”:
“The movie business is in a revolution. For all of us who love it, it’s imperative that we work towards revolutionizing it into the best possible form.
We feel like it’s important to give the consumers choice. Some want to watch them in theaters, and some want to watch them at home. There’s no one-size-fits-all.”
Still, Netflix is seen as having a mixed track record in movies despite scoring the most Academy Award nominations of any company in both 2020 and 2021. Part of it is that its biggest hits in terms of viewership like “Extraction,” “Bird Box,” “Spenser Confidential” or “Enola Holmes” simply don’t capture the cultural moment in the way some of their TV series have. Stuber says:
“We have to be more consistent at making these movies more culturally relevant and putting them in the zeitgeist. We know the audience is there for these movies, but I want people to feel that impact in their conversations with friends and colleagues where they’re saying did you hear about this movie ‘Old Guard’? We’ve done it, but we haven’t done it consistently.”
Stuber says that will change when the company starts to more frequently report viewership metrics. One film he sees as something of a disappointment was Michael Bay’s $150 million action film “6 Underground” even though it pulled in strong numbers (83 million viewers):
“We didn’t feel like we got there on that one creatively. It was a nice hit, but at the end of the day we didn’t feel like we nailed the mark to justify coming back again. There just wasn’t that deep love for those characters or that world.”
While that won’t get a follow-up, he does confirm sequels are on the way for some of their other biggest hits though with “Bright,” “Extraction,” “Army of the Dead” and “The Old Guard” all getting new entries.
