Netflix will become the exclusive home of Sony's theatrical releases after signing a multi-year, first pay window licensing deal with the studio.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal will take effect in 2022 and includes Morbius, Uncharted and the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which are releasing in 2021, are no included and will not stream on Netflix as part of this deal. However, future Spider-Man and Venom films will go to Netflix. (The several animated TV series based on Spider-Man will remain on Disney+.) Finally, the deal also allows Netflix to license select titles from Sony's massive film library.
Netflix also committed to financing an unknown number of projects that Sony intends to make directly for streaming. However, Sony made clear that it plans to keep its theatrical release plans "at its current volume." This would seem to indicate that same-day streaming and theatrical premieres, similar to HBO Max's 2021 strategy for films like Godzilla vs. Kong and Wonder Woman 1984, are off the table for now.
"At Sony Pictures, we produce some of the biggest blockbusters and the most creative, original films in the industry. This exciting agreement further demonstrates the importance of that content to our distribution partners as they grow their audiences and deliver the very best in entertainment," said Keith Le Goy, Sony's president of worldwide distribution.
The news comes as major studios like Disney and Warner Bros. continue to remove content from streamers to build up their own platforms. Just recently, it was revealed that Netflix could lose the rights to stream Illumination Entertainment's films, which include the Despicable Me franchise, to NBCUniversal's Peacock. Of the five major studios, Sony is the only one without a streaming service.
The deal is the latest in a series of big moves by Netflix as it works to bulk up its library. In March, the streamer purchased the right to Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 for $450 million. The first film grossed $311 million worldwide on a budget of only $40 million.
Starz, which is owned by Lionsgate, had been Sony's primary streaming partner until now. Lionsgate was also the studio behind Knives Out.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter