Netflix is pivoting away from prestige
Netflix is pivoting away from prestige
Netflix 正在远离“精品化”策略
A series of high-profile director exits makes it seem like the streamer is rethinking its strategy for success. 一系列知名导演的离职，似乎表明这家流媒体巨头正在重新思考其成功策略。
Many of Netflix’s biggest critically acclaimed hits have been the products of its multiyear production deals with noted directors like David Fincher and Shawn Levy. In the past few weeks, though, the streamer has brought some of those partnerships to an end in a way that feels indicative of a larger strategic shift. With rival studios Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery on the verge of a megamerger that will reshape the entertainment landscape, Netflix is clearly thinking about how it can continue to hold its own in the ongoing streaming wars. But as the company charts its path forward, its plan to court subscribers might not put so much emphasis on big-name moviemakers. Netflix 许多备受好评的重磅作品，都源于其与大卫·芬奇（David Fincher）和肖恩·利维（Shawn Levy）等知名导演签署的多年期制作协议。然而，在过去几周里，Netflix 终止了其中一些合作关系，这似乎预示着公司战略的重大转变。随着竞争对手派拉蒙（Paramount）和华纳兄弟探索（Warner Bros. Discovery）即将进行重塑娱乐格局的巨额合并，Netflix 显然正在思考如何在持续的流媒体大战中保持竞争力。但随着公司规划未来路径，其吸引订阅用户的计划可能不再那么依赖大牌电影制作人。
On Thursday, Netflix shared that its production deal with David Fincher is coming to an end after six years. First announced in 2020, the partnership — which was originally scheduled to last for four years — gave Netflix the exclusive streaming rights to Fincher’s then-upcoming projects like his Herman J. Mankiewicz biographical drama, Mank. With Fincher having previously executive produced original series for Netflix like House of Cards and Mindhunter, the deal seemed to be a sign of Netflix having faith in his ability to keep audiences riveted. 周四，Netflix 表示与大卫·芬奇的制作协议在六年后续约期满。该合作最初于 2020 年宣布，原定为期四年，赋予了 Netflix 芬奇当时即将推出的项目（如赫尔曼·曼凯维奇的传记片《曼克》）的独家流媒体播放权。鉴于芬奇此前曾为 Netflix 监制过《纸牌屋》和《心灵猎人》等原创剧集，这笔交易似乎标志着 Netflix 对他留住观众的能力充满信心。
At the time, Fincher joked that Mank’s critical reception and box office performance before it began streaming would determine what kinds of projects Netflix would let him make. Critics generally praised the film and it was ultimately nominated for 10 Academy Awards — two of which it won. But during Mank’s three-week theatrical run, it only made around $100,000 against a $25 million budget, and once it hit Netflix, it only managed to spend a single day on the streamer’s list of its top 10 most-watched movies (in last place). Though Fincher’s next project for Netflix — 2023’s The Killer — debuted at No. 1 on the chart, the project’s $452,000 box office gross against a $175 million budget made it another financial dud. And with The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth set to show in theaters for two weeks before it hits Netflix on December 23rd, the film could be another example of Fincher delivering a movie that isn’t exactly a huge monetary win for the streamer. 当时，芬奇开玩笑说，《曼克》在流媒体上线前的影评口碑和票房表现，将决定 Netflix 未来会让他制作什么样的项目。影评人普遍称赞了这部电影，它最终获得了 10 项奥斯卡提名，并赢得了其中两项。但在《曼克》为期三周的院线放映期间，其 2500 万美元的预算仅换回了约 10 万美元的票房；而上线 Netflix 后，它仅在“观看次数最多的电影”前十名榜单上停留了一天（且排名垫底）。尽管芬奇为 Netflix 制作的下一个项目——2023 年的《杀手》——首映时登上了榜单第一名，但该片 1.75 亿美元的预算仅换回 45.2 万美元票房，使其成为又一个财务上的失败之作。随着《克里夫·布斯的进一步冒险》定于 12 月 23 日上线 Netflix 前在影院放映两周，这部电影可能又会成为芬奇为流媒体平台制作的、在商业上并不算大获成功的又一案例。
Fincher’s track record with Netflix is somewhat similar to director Shawn Levy’s. After almost a decade of working exclusively with the streamer on projects including Stranger Things, The Adam Project, and Shadow and Bone, Levy announced last month that he had signed a new overall production deal with Disney. Levy — whose directing career began with a number of Disney Channel series — framed his decision to leave Netflix as a kind of homecoming. But it was hard not to see his jumping ship as having been prompted by the way Stranger Things’ final season left audiences and critics disappointed. 芬奇在 Netflix 的表现与导演肖恩·利维有些相似。在与该平台独家合作近十年，参与了《怪奇物语》、《亚当计划》和《太阳召唤》等项目后，利维上个月宣布与迪士尼签署了一份新的全面制作协议。利维——他的导演生涯始于多部迪士尼频道剧集——将离开 Netflix 的决定描述为一种“回归”。但很难不让人认为，他的跳槽是因为《怪奇物语》最终季让观众和影评人感到失望。
The same was true when Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced last August 2025 that they were leaving Netflix for a four-year TV / film production deal with Paramount. The brothers could still have a hand in future Stranger Things projects, and their next series — The Boroughs — debuted on Netflix this past May to respectable numbers. But just one month after its release, The Boroughs was canceled. 当《怪奇物语》的联合创作者马特·达菲和罗斯·达菲在 2025 年 8 月宣布离开 Netflix，与派拉蒙签署为期四年的影视制作协议时，情况也是如此。这对兄弟未来仍可能参与《怪奇物语》的相关项目，他们的下一部剧集《The Boroughs》于今年 5 月在 Netflix 上线，收视数据尚可。但仅仅在发布一个月后，《The Boroughs》就被取消了。
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that Levy’s and the Duffer Brothers’ departures were driven by the filmmakers’ desire to spend more time working on feature-length projects. Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter is slated to premiere next May, and the Duffers’ untitled Paramount film will debut sometime in 2028. Though Sarandos framed the filmmakers’ exits in a positive light, they’re part of a larger trend that makes it seem like Netflix is moving on from its era of signing filmmakers to lengthy deals. The company has also parted ways with Marriage Story writer-director Noah Baumbach, whose other Netflix projects, like White Noise and Jay Kelly, failed to make much of a splash. 在最近接受《好莱坞报道》采访时，Netflix 联席 CEO 泰德·萨兰多斯（Ted Sarandos）表示，利维和达菲兄弟的离开是由于这些电影人希望花更多时间制作长篇电影。利维的《星球大战：星际战斗机》定于明年 5 月首映，而达菲兄弟在派拉蒙的未命名电影将于 2028 年上映。尽管萨兰多斯以积极的角度解读了这些电影人的离开，但它们是一个更大趋势的一部分，表明 Netflix 似乎正在告别与电影人签署长期协议的时代。该公司还与《婚姻故事》的编剧兼导演诺亚·鲍姆巴赫分道扬镳，他在 Netflix 的其他项目，如《白噪音》和《Jay Kelly》，都没能引起太大反响。
Netflix is still banking on some directors being a major draw. The streamer’s production deal with Guillermo del Toro is ongoing, and it is treating the first of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia films as a proper event that will spend seven weeks in theaters before it begins streaming. And while Rian Johnson is taking a break after fulfilling the obligations of his $450 million deal to produce two Knives Out sequels, he could very well come back to Netflix with a plan to make more. Netflix 仍然寄希望于某些导演能成为主要的吸引力。该平台与吉尔莫·德尔·托罗（Guillermo del Toro）的制作协议仍在继续，并且它将格蕾塔·葛韦格（Greta Gerwig）即将推出的《纳尼亚传奇》系列电影的第一部视为一场重头戏，该片将在影院放映七周后才上线流媒体。虽然莱恩·约翰逊（Rian Johnson）在履行完 4.5 亿美元制作两部《利刃出鞘》续集的协议后正在休息，但他很有可能带着制作更多作品的计划回到 Netflix。
Going forward, it seems like Netflix’s main game plan is to put an increased focus on producing lower-budget series, live events, and sports programming. The company obviously isn’t giving up on movies — Gerwig will direct another Narnia feature and there’s a KPop Demon Hunters sequel on the way — but episodic content has been shown to be much more effective at keeping subscribers coming back. 展望未来，Netflix 的主要策略似乎是更加专注于制作低成本剧集、现场活动和体育节目。该公司显然并没有放弃电影——葛韦格将执导另一部《纳尼亚传奇》电影，且《KPop Demon Hunters》的续集也在筹备中——但事实证明，剧集内容在留住订阅用户方面要有效得多。
This is why we’ve recently seen Netflix hyping up strange reality shows like Squid Game: The Challenge, Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, and The New Stanford Prison Experiment. None of those shows exactly come across as must-see TV like the horror series Mike Flanagan produced for Netflix before Amazon poached him in 2022. But that may not matter to Netflix as long as… 这就是为什么我们最近看到 Netflix 在大力宣传一些奇怪的真人秀节目，如《鱿鱼游戏：真人挑战赛》、《旺卡的金奖券》和《新斯坦福监狱实验》。这些节目中没有一个像迈克·弗拉纳根（Mike Flanagan）在 2022 年被亚马逊挖走前为 Netflix 制作的恐怖剧集那样，被视为“必看电视”。但只要……这对 Netflix 来说可能并不重要。