Netflix spent more than $ 275 million to make “The Electric State”, a Sci-Fi Action Adventure movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt and a multitude of sensible robots. If she had opened in theaters, instead of her service, as she did on March 14, the film would almost definitely be considered a giant disappointment.
The reviews were sad. And even though the film made its No. 1 debut in the weekly graph of the most watch films, it had much fewer opinions (25.2 million) than other expensive features, including “Gray Man” (41.2 million), made by their own directors.
But there was little handmade in Netflix this week. No marketing leader was accused. No executives were packed in her office.
Instead, the film shows how differently Netflix is ​​from traditional studios – and how easily the company can go so much for a medium result without observing Wall Street. (His inventory is slightly this week.)
The truth is that no piece of content moves the needle to Netflix in any direction. “Squid Game 2” was the most attended title in the company’s latest dedication report, with 87 million views, but only represented 0.7 % of the total viewing. On the contrary, the $ 18 billion that the company spends every year on movies and broadcasts is intended to reach a world audience with different tastes and interests. The budget for “The Electric State” represents 1.5 % of what the company will spend on the content this year.
“It is comical to me that Hollywood and the obsession of the type over Netflix’s mistakes, while having one of the most viral worldwide successes in ‘adolescence’ at a budget at the moment,” said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst with lighter partners. Teenage boy accused of killing 24.3 million views.
“It’s all about a portfolio approach to the content,” Mr. Greenfield added.
Both Netflix and the Russo brothers refused to comment on this article.
It is assumed that quality is now king on Netflix. “With more than 700 million people watching, we can’t just be one thing. We have to be the best version of all,” said Bela Bajaria, head of Netflix’s content at an event in January showing the company’s 2025 series.
And more recently, he said he had a green light “the electrical state” again. (Among the reviewers, the film has a 15 % positive score in Rotten Tomatoes. Between the public, it has 73 % positive score.)
Netflix acquired “The Electric State” in 2022, after Universal entered the reported price of $ 200 million. These costs with balloons in part due to the amount of special effects involved and the extensive performance in advance paid to the stars and filmmakers.
This type of expenditure for a large budget, a little known piece of intellectual property can be rarer in the future of Netflix. The new head of the company’s film, Dan Lin, reduces the costs where it can, although it still spends rich on extremely coveted projects. A healthy piece fell down for Greta Gerwig’s upcoming “Narnia” and tried to land Emerald Fennell’s adaptation for “Wuthering Heights”, offering $ 150 million. (Lost Warner Bros., who offered to give the film, starring Margot Robbie, a wide -ranging theatrical liberation.)
Netflix is ​​still doing many businesses with Russo Brothers, too. Over the years, the couple has given the company some of its biggest hits, including “Gray Man” and the franchise “Extraction”. Russos’s production company, AGBO, is going to start turning “The Whisper Man”, a crime thriller starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan, this year and a “Extraction” television series is also in the works. (They are also responsible for Disney’s “Avengers” movies and are lined up to direct the next two.)
The “electric state” has hit the continuous flow service just like Hollywood seems to have an identity crisis. Filmmakers say they want original ideas. But the public continues to reject them. Last week, two original stories – “Novocaine”, starring Jack Quaid and “Black Bag”, starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender – head of the latest 2025 cinema weekend.
Even the fare franchise such as “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Paddington in Peru” do not match the gross of its predecessors. Hollywood was optimistic that in 2025 it would be the year that the box office would come back to its default levels, but so far 2024 is 5 % and 2019 by 38 %.
Peter Newman, a film producer and professor at the School of Arts at the University of New York, said that “electrical status” and Netflix’s approach to content were more based on detailed data from the overall taste, a factor that contributed to the inequality between critics and critics.
“Someone could make the assumption that the public has plunged to such an extent that this is what they want,” Mr Newman said. “Maybe they want McDonald’s instead of Peter Luger.”
