Netflix delays the release of six movies amid the writers’ and actors' strike

Things are afoot at Netflix. Not only is the best streaming service removing one of its own Netflix Originals in the UK, The Power of the Dog, but multiple global releases have been pushed back to 2024 as the writers' and actors' strike continues to bite.

Netflix isn't the only studio to reschedule big releases, of course. As we reported earlier this week, Hulu and Sony are delaying many new movie and TV show releases too, and we're expecting many more as the strike continues. The strike affects not just films and shows being shot, but also reshoots and promotional work for finished movies and TV shows too.

The removal of The Power of the Dog is an odd one, though. It's a Netflix Original, but is being removed from the UK streaming service on August 18. While Netflix claims in the movie's credits that it was produced by multiple companies, including BBC Films and the New Zealand Film Commission, it seems likely that the Netflix Original branding was for a limited time – a period that's now coming to a close. But it's unclear what's going to happen to the film itself and whether you'll be able to stream it on a different service this month.

If you haven't already streamed it, you might want to correct that. Directed by Jane Campion and with a cast that includes Kirsten Dunst and Benedict Cumberbatch, it's a beautiful and sometimes savage movie. As The New Yorker put it: "amid all of the film’s romantic beauty darkness and violence lurk, including in unexpected places. What looks like it might become a love story turns out to be a tale of revenge."

Which movies has Netflix delayed until 2024?

The latest delays affect six movies, these include A Family Affair, Damsel, Lift, Players, Shirley and Spaceman, according to What's on Netflix.

A Family Affair was originally scheduled for a November release but it's been swapped out for Rustin, which will air in its place. The romantic comedy starring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and Joey King will now stream at some point in 2024.

Damsel, a fantasy movie starring Millie Bobby Brown as an unusual princess, has been put back from October 2023 to some time in 2024, although a more precise release window hasn't been specified. The same applies to the romantic comedy Players, starring Tom Ellis, Gina Rodriguez and Liza Koshy, which has been rescheduled from the fall of 2023 to a date still to be announced.

We do have a release date for the Kevin Hart comedy Lift, though. Its release has been moved from August 2023 to January 12 2024.

Shirley, Regina King's biopic of Shirley Chisholm, is another film with a to-be-determined 2024 release date, as is the sci-fi drama Spaceman, which features Adam Sandler as the Czech Republic's first ever astronaut.

With no end in sight for the strike it's likely that we'll see a lot more release schedule changes to new Netflix movies like these, not just in Netflix but across all the best streaming services.