Netflix and Paramount have ended the animated film agreement that put Skydance Animation projects on the streaming service. The three-year pact, announced in 2023, is being unwound by mutual agreement, the companies said Monday.
Two films already in the pipeline will stay on Netflix: “Ray Gunn” and the untitled “Jack and the Beanstalk” project. A third feature, “Cosmic Motors,” directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Louie Del Carmen, was originally aimed at Netflix but will now get a theatrical rollout from Paramount Pictures next year.
The companies said in a joint statement they remain “fully committed to the successful releases” of the Netflix-bound titles and will continue their content licensing relationship.
Why the deal lost its logic
The split reflects changing incentives on both sides. TheWrap reports that the original agreement heavily favored Skydance Animation. Netflix, meanwhile, has built a strong in-house animation slate, including “Steps,” due this Thanksgiving as the first film fully produced within the Netflix Animation Studios pipeline.
On the other side, Paramount—now controlled by Skydance—needs more theatrical product as it pursues David Ellison’s goal of roughly 30 movies a year following the Warner Bros. acquisition. Keeping animated features exclusive to a streaming service cuts against that volume strategy.
What changes for Lasseter
Under the old arrangement, Lasseter, the former head of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, was tied exclusively to Skydance Animation and the Netflix pact. With that deal gone, Paramount could consider him for a larger animation role. For now, Paramount says Jennifer Dodge continues to run Paramount Animation, while Skydance Animation remains a standalone label under Paramount Pictures, led by Lasseter and President Holly Edwards.
Development at Skydance Animation includes a project from former Disney director Don Hall and a pre-production project from Nathan Greno, whose “Swapped” recently entered the list of most-watched animated original titles on Netflix.
Netflix’s own animation pipeline
Netflix isn’t short on animated product. Its upcoming slate includes:
- “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory,” a Roald Dahl adaptation set for a wide theatrical release next year
- An original “Ghostbusters” animated film with Sony Pictures Animation
- A new animated feature from “The Sea Beast” director Chris Williams
- Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion “The Buried Giant”
- Sequels to “Leo” and “KPop Demon Hunters”
What this signals
The unwind fits a pattern. An earlier Skydance Animation streaming deal produced one movie—“Luck”—and the series “WondLa,” which ran for three seasons. Output pacts can look attractive when a studio lacks theatrical distribution, but they get re-evaluated once ownership and distribution goals change.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the remaining Netflix releases of “Ray Gunn” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” are now the near-term titles to watch for cross-platform promotion, while “Cosmic Motors” becomes a theatrical planning item under Paramount. The split also gives Netflix more room to prioritize its own animated originals without competing priorities from an external first-look studio.
Source: TheWrap
