Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment have signed a new multiyear deal for the streaming service to get the exlusive global rights to the legacy studio’s film after their full theatrical and home entertainment runs.
Netflix currently has Pay-1 rights, the industry’s term for the post-theatrical and on-demand window, in the United States, Germany and across Southeast Asia. The new arrangement won’t come into full effect until early 2029, but it’ll start later in 2026 as individual territory rights become available. As part of this pact, Netflix will also license rights to select SPE feature film and television library titles.
The financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, but sources suggest it is worth above $7 billion, by all appearances the largest-ever Pay-1 deal. Netflix and Sony’s initial five-year deal for domestic rights was worth $2.5 billion.
“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, Netflix’s VP of licensing and programming strategy. “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.”
Sony Pictures Television’s executive VP of global distribution Paul Littmann praised the studio’s partnership with Netflix as one that’s “incredibly valuable.” “Uncharted,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “It Ends With Us” and “Anyone But You” are some recent Sony films that got a boost in attention after dropping on Netflix. As for upcoming releases, Sony has “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” sequels to “The Social Network” and “Jumanji,” “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” and the Sam Mendes quartet of “Beatles” films on the calendar for 2026 and beyond.
“This new Pay-1 deal takes that partnership to the next level and reinforces the enduring appeal of our theatrical releases to Netflix’s global audience,” Littmann said. “It also further underscores the strength of our independence and unique ability to create meaningful opportunities that benefit our creative stakeholders, consumers, and world-class partners.”
Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, might get even bigger. The tech behemoth currently has an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery worth $82.7 billion to acquire the Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO and HBO Max, and its games division. Meanwhile Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in its entirety.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com ’
