In the field of film production, Netflix is a rather non-traditional and confusing company. Since creating their first original film in 2015, they have been on a massive crusade to create and acquire the next big thing.
In the past decade, they have been nominated for 168 Academy Awards, winning 26. They have also had award-winning and extremely popular films like “Roma,” “The Irishman” and “Emilia Perez.” But despite the billions of dollars they have put into production across their large filmography, they have yet to win a Best Picture. This is especially unfortunate as Apple TV+, which made its first original series in 2019, has already earned the award with “CODA.”
Netflix today has adopted a corporate mentality and strategy similar to the oil barons of old. By owning every aspect of the film production process, they can inflate their status to a serious industry definer. They can hire their own directors and actors on exclusive contracts, use their own production facilities, and release on their own subscription-based services.
The very same vertical integration strategies Rockefeller and Carnegie used in the early 1900s are now being used by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters to make billions. As of recent times, however, this approach does not appear to be as fruitful and consistent as it once was.
Some of Netflix’s recent major project choices reflect this notion. Other than the massive success that was “KPop Demon Hunters,” they have been unable to keep consistent viewership and streaming numbers on any of their other major original series. In an engagement report released by the company, Netflix shared that “KPop Demon Hunters” stayed in the top 10 charts for 31 weeks, while their next most popular film, “Back In Action,” could barely stay for six.
Things could not be more different for Warner Bros. Discovery, which previously dominated Netflix in the field of full-length film production and had one of the most successful years ever in the industry in 2025. Starting with “The Minecraft Movie” in April, the production company saw seven back-to-back hits in theaters, each collecting over $100 million at the global box office, an achievement no other company in the industry has been able to achieve. This made them the first studio to hit four billion dollars in box office gross by September. Their films have had massive success with both audiences and critics. Many hits like “Superman,” “Sinners” and “Weapons” have been nominated, and won, at big Hollywood award competitions.
Despite this, Warner Bros. Discovery had already been open to acquisition before the successful year. The studio had already agreed to a potential sale to Paramount-Skydance in July of 2025, which had also been recently purchased by David Ellison, the son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison. However, thanks to the massive box office returns and an 11% rise in stock share price, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav backed out.
After months of back and forth, Netflix joined negotiations with a huge deal, valued at $72 billion. This led to massive hostility from Paramount and even threats of a lawsuit. Despite Paramount’s attempts, Netflix has emerged as the frontrunner and most likely future owner of the massive studio.
Netflix has already revealed some ideas they have for their new conglomeration, with a strong focus on cutting in-person theaters out of the equation. Early reports show that the streaming giant plans to limit the theatrical runs of many future Warner Bros. Discovery films, with some reports saying major releases could run for only 17 days. Large theater companies have stated that they need major movie releases to stay in theaters for a minimum of 45 days to turn a profit for all parties.
This especially harms smaller and local theaters, which play a limited number of screens every day, and are already struggling to keep seats filled. This plan would essentially destroy the bargaining power of these theaters, which would also be forced to massively raise costs on the consumers to stay open. Netflix has also stated that they plan to move all HBO Max content to their service, which will certainly raise costs for more consumers.
Monopolies are bad in any sector. They destroy innovation, reduce competition and leave consumers stuck with one bad option. There is a reason the rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi still exists. Boeing vs Airbus, McDonalds vs Burger King, Nike vs Adidas.
Competition is required to bring a good product to audiences, which Netflix is getting rid of with this deal. Their once cutting-edge streaming service is starting to resemble obsolete cable television packages, exorbitantly priced and filled with unnecessary junk. They are currently being sued for this very issue.
The lawsuit focuses on the fact that this deal stands to only harm consumers, who will incur price hikes and a likely decrease in overall media quality from Netflix. While the act of buying another movie studio is nothing new — Disney has been doing this for two decades with Marvel and 20th Century Fox — this is the first time that a streaming-based company is outright purchasing its competition.
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has even asked the Justice Department to look at the purchase, saying that this deal should be “completed fairly and transparently.” The landmark nature of this case requires that a harmful precedent not be set for similar future deals.
This allocation news also comes on the heels of “Stranger Things” Season 5’s release, which could not have come out at a worse time for the company. While the final season was viewed as mediocre by audiences and critics, the real bombshells were revealed in a behind-the-scenes documentary of “Stranger Things” and the once well-respected directors, Matt and Ross Duffer.
Instead of showing the Duffer brothers as genius filmmakers, audiences pointed to serious production issues. Most episodes were shot without a completed script. Dialogue and character actions did not make any sense, and actors were left confused. Some keen-eyed fans also alleged that the Duffers were using ChatGPT because they could not remember their own convoluted story.
If serious, original and legacy content is handled with the same carelessness demonstrated there in one of Netflix’s most-watched shows, the company will truly become a sort of death row for art in the film medium.
Netflix was once touted as the next big thing in entertainment, a way for people around the world to easily share their stories and experience cinema in their own living rooms, all for a great monthly price. How the mighty have truly fallen.
