Netflix Boss Ted Sarandos Pours Cold Water On New York Times’ Report That Dan Lin Wants To Make Movies “Better, Cheaper And Less Frequent”

Anthony D'Alessandro
·2 min read
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With Aladdin producer Dan Lin taking over film leadership at Netflix from Scott Stuber, there will still be a commitment to a robust feature slate. Such were the statements from the streamer’s co-CEO on Thursday during the company’s call to discuss its Q1 earnings report.

Fielding a question from analyst Richard Greenfield about a New York Times report that characterized Lin’s mandate was to make movies at Netflix “better, cheaper and less frequent” and how such a formula is possible, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos responded, “We did not participate in that article.”

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Sarandos added, “That’s not a quote from Dan.”

“There’s no appetite to make fewer films,” said Sarandos, whose company release some 50 original features last year alone, with some previous-year tentpoles costing the studio north of $200 million including the Russo Brothers’ The Gray Man, and prestige pics like Noah Baumbach’s White Noise as much as $140M. And’s that’s without downstream revenue a la a regular major studio theatrical title.

Sarandos did add, “[There is] an unlimited appetite to make better films.”

RELATED: Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Sees 2023 Pay Package Push $50 Million

The exec continues to stand on message after saying during January’s Q4 earnings call about the movie division post-Stuber, “We do not plan to change our strategy or the mix” when it comes to film.

“We’re super excited to have Dan join the company, he joined a few weeks ago, and he’s running 100 miles per hour,” added the Netflix boss today.

Sarandos touted Lin’s accomplishments on the streamer, noting he produced both Oscar-nominated The Two Popes and series Avatar: The Last Airbender. “He understands Netflix and the audience really well,” Sarandos said.

In major earnings news, Netflix said today on the call that it will stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers starting in 2025, a notable pivot given how the company’s stock price fluctuates based on those figures. Netflix added that it will still continue to report subscriber milestones from time to time.

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