Netflix could lose big budget content creators over its theater-skipping policy

With only a few months to go before the eagerly anticipated final season of “Stranger Things” is released, Netflix has run bike-first into a speed bump with its creators.

Over the last few days, rumors have circulated that the Duffer Brothers — who have overseen their hit sci-fi series grow from a still large ~$6 million budget per episode newcomer in 2016 to a whopping ~$30 million per episode phenomenon by its fourth season — are signing a major deal to make exclusive film and television content with recently merged media group Paramount Skydance.

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According to reports, the Duffer Brothers have been put off by Netflix’s hard-line theatrical release policy, since the streamer often avoids giving tentpole movies significant windows in cinemas before launching on the platform. Per TechCrunch, the approach has already been a point of contention with other Hollywood heavyweights.

While Netflix is still winning the streaming wars, having run circles around Paramount+ in terms of raw subscriber numbers, losing two of the biggest fish in its original content talent pool could be a knock in an area where the streamer is already struggling to find success: making high-budget blockbusters that draw praise from fans and critics alike.

Looking at Screen Rant’s list of Netflix’s most expensive projects to date, few of the streamer’s $100 million or higher budget movies have garnered much acclaim from audiences, nor overly positive reviews from critics (with the notable exception of Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated epic “The Irishman”).

But the platform’s priciest original production, with an eye-watering $320 million budget, was also the worst critically received on the list. Indeed, “The Electric State” — which not only hails from another set of brotherly sci-fi directors, but stars “Stranger Things” alum Millie Bobby Brown — has seen a paltry 14% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes following its March release.