Aiming for a level of output not seen since the two-reeler silent movie days, Netflix plans to put out a new original movie on average every four and a half days in 2018, for an eye-popping total of 80 releases, content chief Ted Sarandos said after today’s release of third-quarter earnings.
That level compares with eight in the quarter that ended September 30, Sarandos said. His brief comments came during a 40-minute video conversation between a single analysts and the company’s top executives, aimed at breaking down the quarterly results, which were highlighted by continued subscriber growth and higher net profits.
The films range from the typical “million-dollar Sundance hit,” he continued, “all the way up to something on a much bigger scale such as Bright at the end of this year or The Irishman, which is currently in production.” Bright stars Will Smith and Irishman Robert De Niro, the latest sign that A-list movie talent is giving Netflix a spin. One major question is the viability of traditional wide-release patterns given the wariness shown by many large exhibitors about booking titles that can be streamed at home day and date.
Sarandos cited the strong reviews for Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, a festival favorite starring Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler whose Rotten Tomatoes score of 93% puts it in rare company in the original streaming movie game. Once the current slate rolls out, including The Irishman in early 2019, Sarandos said, “People will start seeing the potential for this big movie initiative.”
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