Netflix further bolstered its movie catalog Thursday with a multi-year agreement that makes it the new streaming home for Sony Pictures’ biggest releases in the United States.
Starting next year, new Sony movies will be streaming exclusively on Netflix in the United States after they are released in theaters. This includes movies from popular franchises like “Spider-Man”, “Venom” and “Jumanji”, as well as 2022 releases including “Morbius”, “Where the Crawdads Sing”, “Uncharted” and “Bullet Train”.
The deal also gives Netflix the ability to first rate any movie the Culver City, California-based studio chooses to stream directly.
In a fast-growing world of streaming services, the deal is the kind it used to be for premium cable channels, and it’s a rarity too. Sony is the only traditional Hollywood studio without its own streaming service. The Walt Disney Co. has Disney +, Warner Bros. has HBO Max, Universal Pictures has Peacock, and Paramount Pictures has Paramount +.
Wednesday’s deal replaces an earlier deal between Sony and Starz. Financial details have not been disclosed. During the pandemic, Sony sold Kevin Hart’s “Fatherhood,” “The Mitchells Vs. The Machines,” and “Wish Dragon” to Netflix. He also sent “Greyhound” (“Greyhound: in the Enemy’s Crosshairs”) to Apple TV + and “An American Pickle” (“Pickled in time”) to HBO Max.
“Sony Pictures is a great partner and we are delighted to expand our relationship through this forward-thinking agreement,” said Scott Stuber, Netflix’s global film director. “This not only allows us to present its impressive catalog of beloved movie franchises and new intellectual properties to Netflix in the United States, but also represents a new source of our movie releases for Netflix moviegoers worldwide.”
In the increasingly competitive streaming landscape, Netflix and its great resources have aggressively expanded its cinema catalog. The streaming service plans to release more than one movie a week this year. It also recently acquired the rights to several sequels to “Knives Out” in a deal reportedly worth more than $ 450 million.