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Whether we like it or not, streaming is the future for Hollywood. At the same time, the box office remains a hugely important way for studios to generate money. Not just directly from ticket sales, but because movies that are released in theaters tend to do better on streaming<\/a>. Now, Sony Pictures is hoping to generate more money from its movies via streaming. The catch? They’re hoping to extract more value from box office flops, rather than their hits.<\/p>\n According to Bloomberg<\/a>, Sony is studying whether fees it charges to streamers like Netflix should be based in part on how a given movie performs on streaming. Currently, Netflix has an output deal with Sony<\/a> that sees the studio’s movies go to the streaming service after their theatrical and VOD run is up. Netflix pays a fee for each movie based on its domestic box office haul. However, as Sony sees it, ticket sales aren’t always the best predictor for streaming success. This is where things get interesting.<\/p>\n As the report explains, Sony has discussed asking streaming partners to share how many users start a film or finish it. This is because box office flops like “Madame Web” found great success once they began streaming on Netflix<\/a>. It was Sony’s most-streamed 2024 movie on the platform, overshadowing hits like “It Ends With Us” and “Anyone But You.” This is far from the first time that a theatrical flop became a streaming hit and that’s something Sony hopes to capitalize on.<\/p>\n That plan, however, seems misguided on multiple fronts. The report notes that Netflix would like to renew its deal with Sony. Both Sony and Paramount are currently shopping the rights to their movies after their theatrical runs.<\/p>\n