Netflix to Make Fewer Original Movies

Netflix is embracing a quality-over-quantity strategy by cutting back on the number of movies it produces as the video-streaming giant restructures its film divisions, Bloomberg reports(Opens in a new window). 

Netflix has been churning out more original feature movies than any other company in Hollywood. As Bloomberg notes, by following a strategy of releasing at least one movie a week for the past two years, Netflix’s yearly original movie output has routinely topped 50. 

The restructuring means the team producing relatively budget films ($30 million or less) will be combined with the mid-budget team, which makes movies that cost up $80 million.

The cutback operation will also impact some positions at the company. Lisa Nishimura, who worked at Netflix for over 15 years and led its standup comedy and original documentary offerings will depart, Bloomberg reports, while Ian Bricke, a vice president in the film group, is also parting ways after over a decade.

According to Netflix’s head of film, Scott Stuber, the move to cut back on movie production is to ensure more titles are of high quality. While Netflix is responsible for massively popular movies such as Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and critically acclaimed films such as All Quiet on the Western Front, the sheer vastness of its offerings mean many movies go under the radar. 

The move comes after Netflix laid off hundreds of staff(Opens in a new window) last year as subscribers in 2022 dipped for the first time in over a decade. In a bid to recoup losses from a falling subscriber count, the movie-streaming giant launched a cheaper ad-based subscription plan. 

Netflix attracted some backlash earlier this year when it started clamping down on password sharing, a practice it had previously even encouraged. The move might pay off, though, despite the criticism. According to equity analysts at Well Fargo, its clampdown could bring $3 billion(Opens in a new window) in extra revenue for the company, though it has yet to roll out anything formal in the US.