This Recent Flop Has Netflix Reconsidering Risky Spending

Despite their longstanding trend towards big spending on splashy original content, a new report suggests that Netflix is looking to spend smarter, not larger, going forward.

First reported by The Information, and picked up by The Playlist, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos reportedly advised several film and television executives within the company last month to reign in excessive spending on projects not guaranteed to be successful. One of the major motivators for this new philosophy is said to be the recent original film, “Triple Frontier.”

Released on the service back in March, “Triple Frontier” was a drug war drama directed by J.C. Chandor (“All Is Lost”) which featured an ensemble cast of big names, including Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund. At a reported cost of $115 million, the film garnered mediocre reviews and failed to pull in enough viewers to be considered a hit by the streaming giant. Now, the company is looking to avoid as many repeats of this performance as possible.

Despite this new restraint, Netflix is still prepared to pay top dollar for hot properties. Just recently, the company has gone full-steam-ahead on big-budget projects like the psychedelic comic book series “Sandman,” the high-fantasy action series “The Witcher” with Henry Cavill and the dystopian military thriller “The Division” with Jake Gyllenhaal.

How exactly this new mandate will play out is unclear at this time and may never be fully detectable. However, those watching the big moves in the streaming realm can expect a more calculated strategy from Netflix.