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What’s your favourite Netflix Original series? Orange Is The New Black? Stranger Things? Mindhunter? It could be any number of TV shows made exclusively for the streaming giant that have received critical acclaim: from binge-worthy tales of pure escapism to true crime stories that punch you in the gut.
Now, how about Original films? According to Netflix itself, it’s probably an Adam Sandler flick. Typically tight-lipped with its viewing figures, Netflix revealed in 2017 that its most streamed Original films were a pair of critically-panned Sandler movies which have scored a combined ten per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. They didn’t fare much better with audiences, either. The Ridiculous Six – which boasts a big, fat whopping zero on the Tomatometer – was enjoyed by just a third of viewers.
Of course, there have been Netflix films which have been the darlings of critics and award season – the likes of Beasts Of No Nation and Roma. However, most are merely distributed by the streaming service, picked up long after production has wrapped. In other words, Netflix Exclusives – but not Netflix Originals.
With so many Netflix series cherished by fans and critics alike, why such little comparative success with its in-house films? “Netflix was relatively slow off-the-mark in making original movies,” explains critic Anna Smith, host of podcast Girls On Film. “Although its series have been developed for years now, it feels like its movie making is still in its infancy.”
But it goes deeper than mere teething problems. Smith says that Netflix seems to promote its series much more heavily than its films. If you create a brand new account, free from recommendations based on viewing habits, the Netflix algorithm, will guide you towards its Original series and away from its films.
In the battle for eyeballs and the advent of the ‘streaming wars’ between Netflix and other over-the-top subscription services, it makes sense to keep viewers hooked to a binge-worthy ten-hour series over one, 90-minute film. However, Dan Rayburn, an industry expert and chairman of the Streaming Summit, thinks it’s more of a balancing act. “Netflix has a big challenge in that it’s targeting a very wide audience: families, hardcore movie fans, international viewers,” he says. The company has more than 150 million subscribers around the world. “Both original series and films are targeted at different segments of their subscriber base. They’re constantly gathering data and analysing viewer habits. For example, if they notice more kids films are being watched, they’re more likely to make a kids film.”
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Netflix guards its figures with CIA levels of secrecy, rarely providing insight into its data. Last December, however, it shared a concrete viewing number for the first time: a record-breaking 45m streams in seven days for Original movie Bird Box. The Sandra Bullock led film may have been met with mixed reviews, but those sorts of figures would have translated into bigger box office numbers than Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In other words, Bird Box, streamed by a third of all Netflix subscribers, was a global phenomenon. There are other Original films which have been flops with the critics yet loved by audiences. Arguably, the most notorious one is the Will Smith buddy-cop-fantasy Bright. Dubbed the “worst movie of 2017” by one critic, it has an 86 per cent audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Bright is one of my favourite Original movies – it’s a fun action film,” says Matthew Morley, founder of unofficial reviews and listings site New On Netflix. “I can probably name as many good Netflix films as I can series. I don't think quality is the issue – it’s critics dismissing Netflix movies because most don’t receive a proper cinema release. Of course, some films aren’t great, but there are some bad Original series, too.”
So, a pair of Sandler films aside, are critics simply out-of-step with Netflix viewers when it comes to Original films, or does the disconnect reflect the differing nature of streaming? Idly selecting Murder Mystery or Otherhood with nothing else to watch on a Sunday night clearly isn’t the same investment as paying £15 to watch Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in cinemas. Indeed, Netflix films have been labelled by some critics as ‘background cinema’ – standard TV-movie fare you can follow in between extended scrolls down your Instagram feed.
However, Smith isn’t one of them. “I spent several years reviewing every TV movie on terrestrial channels, and I can safely say that Netflix Originals are better than most of them. The budgets are bigger – they can afford big name directors, cast and crew.” She explains that although critics approach Original films with an open mind, biases can still creep in. “Many publications still focus on films that are released in cinemas – rather than streaming services – so that’s why Netflix Originals can get fewer column inches.”
As a movie production company, Netflix is more hands-off and risk-taking than most. One of its biggest hits, with critics and audiences alike, is Okja. A Korean sci-fi love story revolving around a genetically engineered pig, it’s not traditional Hollywood fare. Likewise, Bird Box director Susanne Bier has praised Netflix for green-lighting a female-led film that had previously been stuck in development hell.
Granting directors more creative freedom is typically to a film’s benefit. But there are pitfalls, too. Smith says there can be a “risk of self-indulgence” without any studio interference. Some reviews of Netflix Original films, meanwhile, describe them as being “algorithmically constructed”: disparate movie elements clumsily thrown together to box-tick as many movie genres as possible, helping a new film land on a subscriber’s main menu, enticing a view.
Rayburn, however, disputes this. “It’s not algorithm, it’s methodology. Netflix follows a method for every piece of content it creates,” he says. Netflix has more data than most that it can harvest for new content. “It knows viewing habits and what people want. The algorithm is the data point used for methodology in making a new show. That makes sense, they’ll want to target a show to a certain demographic. And that’s hard when you’re Netflix – you have to target everyone.”
Netflix HQ is in Los Gatos, in the San Francisco Bay Area. In other words, it’s buried deep within Silicon Valley, hundreds of miles away from the bright lights of Hollywood. Some of Tinseltown’s most famous residents have turned a sceptical eye towards Netflix. Steven Spielberg has said direct-to-streaming releases shouldn’t be eligible for Oscars, while Christopher Nolan has described Netflix’s same-day streaming and cinema release as “mindless.”
However, there are signs Netflix is becoming a major Hollywood star – not least with its rapidly expanding content and marketing teams based on Sunset Boulevard. In January, it joined the Motion Picture Association of America, the powerful lobbying group which includes industry heavyweights Disney, Fox, Warner Bros, Universal, Sony and Paramount. Then, last month, it struck an exclusive filmmaking deal with Shepperton Studios in west London. And, coming in autumn, there is the small matter of Martin Scorcese crime epic, The Irishman.
Starring gangster flick legends Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, it could – and should – have been a major cinema release. Instead, Netflix footed a portion of the film's spiralling $175m budget and bought the distribution rights. That means, beyond a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it theatrical run (to qualify it for 2020 awards season), the only place you’ll be able to see it is on the small screen: your living room TV, your iPad, your phone on the bus to work.
Netflix is certainly beginning to flex its movie making muscles. And, with the impending launch of new video-on-demand services like Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max, it probably has to. “Netflix will have challenges ahead, no doubt,” says Rayburn. “Apple are looking at family-friendly content, Warner are entering the game, but the only ones we know that will be successful, hands down, is Disney+. The content is targeted, focused, high quality with a broad range of films from Star Wars to Marvel.”
So, could Netflix – and other tech giants – become the new Hollywood and begin making new, truly great original films? “It’s a major step having a cinematic icon like Scorsese make a Netflix film,” Smith says. “And, of course, Netflix has more money than most studios. Time will tell though, if it can truly compete with the major studios in the long term.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
