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On July 21, Zack Snyder, director of Netflix’s Army of the Dead, announced he had signed his production company The Stone Quarry to a first-look deal with Netflix; his upcoming projects included a sequel to Army of the Dead and a sci-fi adventure film titled Rebel Moon. On July 14, 2021, Netflix signed a first-look deal with Joey King, star of The Kissing Booth franchise, in which King would produce and develop films for Netflix via her All The King’s Horses production company. In September 2019, in addition to renewing Stranger Things for a fourth season, Netflix signed The Duffer Brothers to an overall deal covering future film and television projects for the service. In May 2014, Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation had a major multi-deal to acquire streaming rights to produce films.
- In March 2021, Netflix earned the most Academy Award nominations of any studio, with 36 nods.
- In May 2020, Netflix announced the acquisition of Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre from the American Cinematheque to use as a special events venue.
- In February 2018, Netflix acquired the rights to The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) from Paramount Pictures for $50 million and launched it on February 4, 2018, shortly after airing its first trailer during Super Bowl LII.
- In March 2018, Sky UK announced an agreement with Netflix to integrate Netflix’s subscription VOD offering into its pay-TV service.
- Netflix stated that the redesign was meant to allow users to “have an easier time figuring out if a title is right for them”, and be more reflective of new types of content offerings such as sports and other live events.
In 2019, it removed an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj from its service in Saudi Arabia after authorities claimed it violated local cybercrime laws, prompting criticism from free speech advocates and human rights organizations. Netflix’s content has also been criticized by disability rights movement advocates for lack of closed captioning quality. Thirteen of those nominations belonged to the musical crime drama Emilia Pérez, making it the most nominated film of the year and the most nominated non-English language film in Academy history. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was the first streaming film to win Best Animated Feature and The Elephant Whisperers was the first Indian-produced film to receive Best Documentary Short Film. In March 2023, Netflix won six Academy Awards including four for All Quiet on the Western Front which was the most awarded Netflix film in its history. In February 2022, The Power of the Dog, a gritty western distributed by Netflix and directed by Jane Campion, received 12 nominations, including Best Picture, for the 94th annual Academy Awards.
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Three of its series, Arrested Development, Hemlock Grove and House of Cards, earned a combined 14 nominations (nine for House of Cards, three for Arrested Development and two for Hemlock Grove). Netflix can be accessed via a web browser, while Netflix apps are available on various platforms, including Blu-ray players, tablet computers, mobile phones, smart TVs, digital media players, and video game consoles. In May 2026, Netflix announced that the ad tier will expand to 15 new countries in 2027, including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand. On July 20, 2022, it was announced that the advertising-supported tier would be coming to Netflix in 2023 but it would not feature the full library of content. On July 18, 2022, Netflix announced that it would test the account sharing feature in more countries, including Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
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In early-August 2019, Netflix negotiated an exclusive multi-year film and television deal with Game of Thrones creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. In December 2018, the company announced a partnership with ESPN Films on a television documentary chronicling Michael Jordan and the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season titled The Last Dance. In November 2018, Paramount Pictures signed a multi-picture film deal with Netflix, making Paramount the first major film studio to do so. In August 2018, the company signed a five-year exclusive overall deal with international best-selling author Harlan Coben. In December 2017, Netflix signed Stranger Things director-producer Shawn Levy and his production company 21 Laps Entertainment to what sources say is a four-year deal. Netflix released an estimated 30 original series or films over that year, more than any network or cable channel.
Later that month, Netflix announced an agreement with DreamWorks Animation to commission children’s television series based on its properties, beginning with Turbo Fast, a spin-off of its film Turbo (2013). In August 2012, Netflix and The Weinstein Company signed a multi-year output deal for RADiUS-TWC films. However, at that time, it only had 1,000 films available for streaming, compared to 70,000 available on DVD. By 2022, “Netflix Original” productions accounted for half of its library in the United States and the namesake company had ventured into other categories, such as video game publishing of mobile games through its flagship service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres. Netflix also contributed to the non gamstop casinos decline of cable television by making streaming more popular and increasing demand for original online content.
The streaming giant is said to co-produce three feature films with the studio, the first of which would premiere in September 2022. Also on the same day, Netflix announced an Exploding Kittens mobile card game tied to a new animated TV series, which would launch in May. On the same day, Roberto Patino signed a deal with Netflix and established his production banner, Analog Inc., in partnership with the company. On September 21, Netflix announced it would acquire the Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the rights to Roald Dahl’s stories and characters, for an undisclosed price and would operate it as an independent company. On June 30, Powerhouse Animation Studios (the studio behind Netflix’s Castlevania) announced signing a first-look deal with the streamer to produce more animated series.
In February 2019, The Haunting creator Mike Flanagan joined frequent collaborator Trevor Macy as a partner in Intrepid Pictures, and the duo signed an exclusive deal with Netflix to produce television content. At the same time, the company signed an overall deal with Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. In May 2018, former president, Barack Obama, and his wife, Michelle Obama, signed a deal to produce docuseries, documentaries, and features for Netflix under the Obamas’ newly formed production company, Higher Ground Productions. In April 2017, Netflix signed a licensing deal with IQIYI, a Chinese video streaming platform owned by Baidu, to allow selected Netflix Original content to be distributed in China on the platform. In April 2015, following the launch of Daredevil, Netflix director of content operations Tracy Wright announced that Netflix had added support for audio description, and had begun to work with its partners to add descriptions to its other original series over time.