HBO Max created a stir in the streaming world last year when the company decided to pull some productions that had already been filmed. The streamer shelved high-profile projects like Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt after both movies had wrapped principal production. (The service also started cutting released content, including shows like Gordita Chronicles and the HBO series Vinyl, which was produced by Martin Scorsese.) Now, Netflix is following suit in a way by canceling two completed films, which were set to be released on the platform.
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Netflix pulled its planned original productions The Inheritance and House/Wife from its slate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While this does seem similar to what HBO Max’s slew of cancellations, there is one key difference to make note of here. In this case, Netflix is giving the filmmakers the opportunity to shop their completed projects elsewhere. Warner Bros. Discovery's streamer reportedly wrote off its productions for tax purposes, meaning that the projects could subsequently not be sent to other entertainment entities that could profit off of them.
These cancellations come at an interesting time for the California-based streaming service. The company previously reported losses last year due to wavering subscriber counts and funding of expensive projects. However, the mega-streamer recently introduced an ad-based option that's served as a boon for it, as it seeks to compete with other companies. Also, in 2022, the entertainment giant had a number of widely popular movies, including Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and The Gray Man. It should also be pointed out that there were some notable TV releases in The Watcher, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Wednesday to boot.
As for the movies being offloaded by Netflix, Inheritance is a horror/thriller starring Peyton List and Rachel Nichols. It tells the story of a man who invites his estranged children to his home, as he believes he is about to be murdered. To convince them to help him stay alive, he puts their inheritances on the line. On the other hand, House/Wife, which stars Alice Braga and Kris Holden-Ried, is a sci-fi thriller about a smart home gone wrong.
Little is known about the decision to offload these titles in particular, but what can be said is that the streamer and HBO Max aren't alone in making seemingly surprising content shifts. Starz removed notable series from its service this year, including Dangerous Liaisons, Becoming Elizabeth and Step Up. Paramount+ also scrapped a Workaholics based series shortly before it was to start filming. Much has been said about cost-cutting measures in the age of streaming and what projects get a push from a specific streaming service and which ones get sacked.
Only time will tell whether Netflix will decide to unload any other filmed productions, and we'll also have to wait and see where the two films ended up landing. In the meantime, you can keep up to date on movies that are still intended to premiere by checking out the 2023 Netflix release schedule. And for even more information on other flicks hitting theaters or streaming on other platforms, consult CinemaBlend’s 2023 new movie releases schedule.
