Netflix spent over $275 million to create “The Electric State,” a sci-fi action-adventure film starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt and numerous sensory robots. As with March 14th, if it was open in theaters, the film would almost certainly be declared a huge disappointment.
The review is miserable. And although the film debuted at No. 1 on the weekly charts of the most watched film streaming giant, it had far fewer views (25.2 million) than other expensive features, such as “The Grey Man” (41.2 million), created by the brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, the same directors.
However, there was little manual winding on Netflix this week. The marketing chief was not criticized. The production executive didn't pack her office.
Instead, the film shows how Netflix differs from traditional studios, and how it can be very easily spent on intermediate results without realizing it on Wall Street. (Stock has risen slightly this week.)
The truth is, there's nothing on Netflix moving the needle in either direction. “Squid Game 2” is the most viewed title in the company's latest engagement report, with 87 million views, accounting for just 0.7% of total viewing. Rather, the $18 billion the company spends on films and shows each year aims to reach a global audience with a variety of tastes and interests. The “electrical condition” budget represents 1.5% of what the company spends on content this year.
“It's comical to me that Hollywood and the press are obsessed with Netflix's mistakes. He was referring to the tragic, and enthusiastic four-part series about a teenage boy accused of murder that generated 24.3 million views.
“It's all about a portfolio approach to content,” Greenfield added.
Both Netflix and Russo Brothers declined to comment on this article.
Perhaps quality is the king of Netflix. “We're not just one thing, as we have over 700 million people watching. We need to be the best version of everything,” Netflix's Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria introduced the company's 2025 lineup at an event in January.
And recently, she said she will again greenlight the “electric state.” (Among reviewers, the film has a positive rating of 15% with rotten tomatoes. Among the general public, it has a positive rating of 73%.)
Netflix acquired “The Electric State” in 2022 after Universal balked at the reported $200 million price tag. These costs have inflated in part due to the amount of special effects involved and the extensive prepaid bonuses paid to the film's stars and directors.
Such large, lesser-known spending on intellectual property may be more rare in Netflix's future. The company's new film head Dan Lin is still spending luxury on a highly coveted project, but is cutting costs as much as possible. He attempted to land an Emerald Fennell “High Winged Heights” adaptation by dropping a healthy chunk of Greta Gerwig's upcoming “Narnia” and offering $150 million. (He lost to Warner Bros. Warner Bros. offered to present a film starring Margot Robbie, a wide-ranging theatrical release.)
Netflix still has a lot of business with Russo Brothers. Over the years, the pair have given the company some of their biggest hits, including “Greyman” and “Extract” franchises. Russos production company Agbo will begin filming this year for the crime thriller The Whisper Man, starring Robert de Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan. (They are also heads of Disney's high-profile “Avengers” films, and are lined up to direct the next two.)
Just as Hollywood appears to be at an identity crisis, “The Electric State” has become a hit with streaming services. Movie fans say they want original ideas. But the public continues to reject them. Last week, two original stories, “Novocaine,” starring Jack Quaid, and “Black Bag,” starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, found the lateest movie weekend of 2025.
Even franchise dishes like “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Paddington in Peru” do not match their predecessor's crudeness. Hollywood had hoped that 2025 would be the year when box office revenue would return to its preschool level, but so far it has taken over 2024 and 2019 by 38%.
Peter Newman, a film producer and professor at New York University's Tisch School of Arts, said that “electrical conditions” and Netflix's approach to content relies more on analysis than on overall taste.
“You can argue that it was as much fun as they wanted,” Newman said. “Maybe they want McDonald's instead of Peter Luger.”
