Netflix plans to roll out several new original Netflix-made movies, including Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation and Adam Sandler’s The Ridiculous Six.
Beasts of No Nation starring Idris Elba will debut on Friday 16 October, on the same day as it will open in select US cinemas.
This indicates that Netflix’s ambitions of taking on both TV and cinema are being realised faster than anyone has given the streaming giant credit for yet. It’s ambitions don’t stop there – Beasts of No Nation is expected to be a contender for an Oscar and will take on contenders like Bridge of Spies from Steven Spielberg and the horror film Crimson Peak.
Beasts of No Nation, a drama about child soldiers pressed into fighting a civil war in Africa, is based on the novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala and is directed by True Detective’s Cary Fukunaga.
The Ridiculous Six will be the first of four Adam Sandler films that will be available only on Netflix and will premiere exclusively on Netflix on Friday 11 December.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend will be released theatrically in China and on IMAX and on Netflix globally in Q1 2016.
Pee-wee’s Big Holiday will premiere on Netflix in March 2016.
The move into its own programming has worked out well for Netflix thanks to dramas like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Marco Polo, so movies are a logical next step.
The streaming giant is also rumoured to be planning a Top Gear reboot starring Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond – a rumour that has gained potency since it emerged that the Top Gear team are contractually precluded from going to another broadcaster like ITV for at least two years.
Netflix movies image via Shutterstock