Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. is still not a sure thing, but the SVOD giant this week struck a separate deal with Sony to stream box office films after their theatrical window.
On Thursday Netflix announced the exclusive multi-year global Pay-1 licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment to be the worldwide streaming home for the studio’s feature films, following their full theatrical and home entertainment release windows.
The new Pay-1 arrangement is set to roll out gradually starting later in 2026 as rights become available in individual territories, with full global availability on Netflix in early 2029. Under the deal, Netflix also licenses rights to select Sony feature film and television library titles.
Netflix currently has Pay-1 rights to Sony films in certain territories, including the U.S., Germany, and Southeast Asia. That deal includes titles such as Uncharted, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, It Ends With Us, Anyone But You, and Venom: The Last Dance.
“Our members all over the world love movies and giving them exclusive access to Sony’s much loved films adds incredible value to their subscriptions,” said Lauren Smith, Vice president of Licensing and Programming Strategy at Netflix, in a statement. “Sony’s impressive slate of iconic film franchises like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and originals like Anyone But You have been popular with our U.S. audience and now we’re excited to expand that offering to our members all around the world.”
The new deal expands that partnership to include film titles such as The Nightingale, and Nintendo’s live-action he Legend of Zelda and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Sony Picture Television EVP Paul Littmann in a statement said that the new agreement takes the companies’ existing partnerships “to the next level and reinforces the enduring appeal of our theatrical releases to Netflix’s global audience.”
The Pay-1 licensing deal that keeps theatrical and home entertainment windows in tact comes as Netflix, meanwhile, is working to acquire WBD’s streaming business and storied studio assets – but faces a continued competing hostile takeover attempt of the entire media company by Paramount Skydance.
One of the questions, concerns and potential regulatory point of scrutiny that has come up around a sale of WBD to Netflix is the impact on the movie theater industry and theatrical releases, as the streaming giant helped usher in the age of on-demand at-home viewing and even in the recent past has downplayed the importance of theaters and preserving a 45-day theatrical window.
Since news broke of Netflix’s planned $83 billion purchase of WBD’s studio and streaming business, Hollywood stars, unions like the Writers Guild of America and cinema trade organization Cinema United, among others have urged against it, with some citing threats to theaters, jobs and the movie-going experience.
Netflix leadership, for its part, has continued to state a commitment to release Warner Bros. films in theaters.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos this week in a Q&A with the New York Times continued to try and alleviate concerns and provide reassurance about the company’s commitment to the box office – contending that it’s earlier stance has been misunderstood as it wasn’t previously in the theatrical business.
“When this deal closes, we will own a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars of theatrical revenue that we don’t want to put at risk. We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows,” Sarandos told the NYT. “I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.”
He also categorized the notion that Netflix thinks going to the movie theaters is competition for its own streaming service as a myth.
“When you go out to see a movie in the theater, if it was a good movie, when you come home, the first thing you want to do is watch another movie. If anything, I think it helps, you know, encourage the love of films,” Sarandos contended to the NYT. “I did not get in this business to hurt the theatrical business. I got into this business to help consumers, to help movie fans.”