Two commentaries argue Netflix's data-led, anti-theatre strategy has run into trouble

Left · 2Two commentary pieces published between 26 and 29 October 2026 argue that Netflix is struggling because of its long-held strategy, though they locate the failure in different places. 1 2 Left · 1In The A.V. Club, Alex Cranz wrote that there had been a "major upset" at Netflix: its tastemakers and a thousand other employees were out, and the stock was down. 1 Left · 1Cranz wrote that co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors on the latest earnings call that Netflix needs "better execution in the U.S.", and that the company replaced Content Chief Officer Bela Bajaria with Peter Rice and removed Dan Lin, who ran films. 1

Left · 1Cranz argued that the leadership changes were merely "rearranging the chairs on a sinking ship" and that the underlying problem is an entertainment business that thinks it is a technology company, with data dictating decisions. 1 Left · 1As evidence, Cranz pointed to Netflix failing to anticipate the hit "K-Pop Demon Hunters", the 11 films it spent $1.5 billion making that he called bombs, the final season of "Stranger Things", and Russo Brothers films such as "The Electric State" and "The Gray Man". 1 Left · 1He also contended that data-led commissioning has mainly worked for user-generated platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, that it cost Disney's Bob Chapek his job, and that Netflix now needs hits and "good people with good taste". 1

Left · 1In IndieWire, David Ehrlich wrote that Netflix's original-movie experiment has failed, noting that in April 2025 Sarandos, asked by Time's editor-in-chief whether he had destroyed Hollywood, replied "No, we’re saving Hollywood" and called the theatrical model "an outdated concept". 2 Left · 1Ehrlich said that in October 2026 Netflix rented New York's biggest AMC to premiere a trailer for "Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew", directed by Greta Gerwig, which opens in theatres next February and will play there exclusively for almost two months before reaching Netflix. 2 Left · 1Ehrlich argued that since its 2015 film debut with "Beasts of No Nation" Netflix's aim was the elimination of cinemas, which he attributed to its being a tech company that became a studio as a means to an end, and that it resisted longer theatrical windows even when directors and audiences wanted them. 2

Left · 1He wrote that audiences returned to cinemas after the pandemic, with this year's domestic box office on track to reach $10 billion, almost matching 2019, and presented Netflix's shift toward theatres as a change that will benefit the company. 2