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Celebrity filmmaker Steven Spielberg has struck a multi-year deal to make movies for Netflix Inc. Amazon.com Inc.
Under the terms of the deal, announced by Netflix and Amblin Partners from Mr Spielberg, the studio will produce several new films for Netflix over the course of the agreement. The agreement with Netflix does not affect Mr. Spielberg’s long-standing relationship with Universal Pictures for Comcast Corp., where Amblin Partners is based.
Netflix’s signature of Mr. Spielberg, whose portfolio includes “Jaws,” “ET” and “Saving Private Ryan,” suggests the company is keeping a sharp eye in the rearview mirror. Although Netflix is the most popular streaming service worldwide, its competitors are growing in number and strength.
Disney+ by Walt Disney has had strong successes in the United States and abroad. Other competitors are also turning to Netflix. Last month, Amazon acquired MGM film and television studio in a deal worth $8.45 billion including debt. Among the properties that will now be part of Amazon is the James Bond franchise.
HBO Max, the one-year-old streaming service launched by AT&T affiliate WarnerMedia, is boosting its original and earning content as is Comcast’s Peacock.
For Netflix, getting content from Mr. Spielberg will boost an already prolific movie line. In 2021, Netflix is expected to produce 60 films.
The launch of Disney+ brought a little magic to a company whose shares plummeted after the coronavirus closed theme parks and movie theaters. WSJ explains how Disney’s streaming platform has become a major competitor in an already crowded field. Image caption: Jacob Reynolds/Wall Street Journal
The Amblin films won’t hit the service until later this year at the earliest. Movies and shows have the potential to add more prestige to Netflix, which this year earned 36 Academy Award nominations for its films.
In a statement, Mr. Spielberg said of the Netflix charter, “It was absolutely clear that we had a fantastic opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways.”
The deal carries symbolic weight in Hollywood, as Mr. Spielberg has been buzzing about whether films from the Oscars’ streaming services should be considered. In an interview with ITV in 2018, he said that those movies that were first shown on streaming services that are watched at home became a TV movie.
“You certainly, if it’s a good show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar,” he added.
—Eric Schwarzl contributed to this article.
Write to Joe Flint at [email protected]
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