Netflix has released some critically acclaimed original movies in recent years, including Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar-winning Roma and Cary Fukunaga’s beloved Beasts of No Nation.
However, for every success there were also many failures. Netflix gave the impression that they just approved everything without much quality control. In an interview with Variety, Scott Stuber, the video streaming service’s head of movies, confirms that quantity was indeed more important to the company for several years, as the goal was simply to have enough content. Netflix used to release about 50 movies a year without much quality control.
“We’ve developed a new studio,” Stuber told Variety. “We were in the market a few years and we were dealing with 100-year-old companies. So we had to ask ourselves, ‘What is our business model?’. And for a while, it was just making sure we had enough content. We needed volume.”
However, this policy is changing from 2024. The company will reduce annual releases to 25-30 films and place more emphasis on quality. It will evaluate projects more rigorously and invest in smaller productions from established creators.
It will also likely drop lucrative franchises like Masters of the Universe for quality reasons. For many, the above moves are the best Netflix can do, showing that the company is maturing and learning in the movie space.
The focus on quality is expected to benefit both subscribers and Netflix’s reputation in the film industry in the long run. At the same time, it will attract serious creators looking for a quality studio to realize their vision.
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