Netflix's run of multiyear deals with celebrated filmmakers is winding down, and the departures now read less like individual decisions than a strategy shift. On Thursday the streamer confirmed that its production partnership with David Fincher is ending after six years.
The economics explain it. Fincher's Mank was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won two, but its three-week theatrical run grossed roughly $100,000 against a $25 million budget, and it spent a single day in Netflix's top-10 chart — in last place. The Killer opened at number one on the service but took about $452,000 in cinemas against a $175 million budget.
He is not alone. Shawn Levy, behind Stranger Things and The Adam Project, signed an overall deal with Disney last month and framed the move as a homecoming. The Duffer Brothers left for a four-year film and television deal with Paramount in August 2025, a month after their Netflix series The Boroughs debuted to respectable numbers — and was cancelled. Noah Baumbach, whose White Noise and Jay Kelly failed to make much of a splash, has also parted ways. Co-chief executive Ted Sarandos has publicly attributed the exits to the filmmakers' wish to spend more time on features.
Some relationships remain: Guillermo del Toro's deal is ongoing, and Netflix is treating the first of Greta Gerwig's Narnia films as an event release with a seven-week theatrical window. Rian Johnson may return after delivering his two Knives Out sequels.
The direction of travel, though, is towards cheaper, repeatable content — lower-budget series, live events and sports — that keeps subscribers opening the app. Netflix is making the pivot with an eye on the coming Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which would reshape the streaming market around it. The service may end up feeling less premium; the bet is that it survives longer.
