Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment Enter New Deal
Netflix is set to become the exclusive global Pay-1 streaming home for Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) feature films, under a landmark multi-year licensing agreement announced by the two companies.
Under the deal, Sony’s feature films will stream on Netflix worldwide after completing their full theatrical and home entertainment runs.
It marks an industry first for a global Pay-1 arrangement and significantly deepens the long-standing partnership between the streaming giant and the Hollywood studio.
Global rollout to begin later this year
The new Pay-1 agreement will be introduced gradually from later this year as existing territorial rights expire.
Full global availability of Sony Pictures’ Pay-1 film slate on Netflix is expected in early 2029.
As part of the arrangement, Netflix will also license a selection of Sony Pictures’ feature film and television library titles, adding further depth to its international catalogue.
Netflix already holds Pay-1 rights to Sony’s feature films in several territories, including the United States, Germany and parts of Southeast Asia.
Titles streamed under the current deal include Uncharted, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, It Ends With Us, Anyone But You and Venom: The Last Dance.
Expanding access to major film franchises
Netflix said the expanded agreement would allow it to bring some of Sony’s most popular films to a global audience.
“Our members all over the world love movies and giving them exclusive access to Sony’s much loved films adds incredible value to their subscriptions,” said Lauren Smith, Netflix’s Vice President of Licensing and Programming Strategy.
She added that Sony’s film franchises and original titles had already proved popular with US audiences, and that Netflix was now looking forward to extending that success worldwide.
Sony Pictures also described the agreement as a significant step forward in its distribution strategy.
“Our partnership with Netflix has always been incredibly valuable,” said Paul Littmann, Executive Vice President of Global Distribution at Sony Pictures Television. “This new Pay-1 deal takes that partnership to the next level and reinforces the enduring appeal of our theatrical releases to Netflix’s global audience.”
High-profile films set for Netflix debut
Among the first Sony Pictures feature films expected to stream on Netflix under the new deal are The Nightingale, the adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s bestselling novel starring Dakota and Elle Fanning; Sony Pictures Animation’s Buds; Nintendo’s live-action The Legend of Zelda; and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, the final chapter in the acclaimed animated trilogy.
The slate also includes an ambitious quartet of Beatles films directed by Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes, further underlining the scale and variety of content set to arrive on the platform.
Strengthening Netflix’s global offering
Netflix, which has more than 300 million paid memberships across over 190 countries, continues to invest heavily in expanding its film catalogue as competition in the streaming market intensifies.
For Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation, the deal highlights the company’s unique position as a major studio without its own consumer streaming service, allowing it to strike high-value partnerships across the global market.
The agreement is expected to reshape how Sony’s biggest theatrical releases reach audiences worldwide in the coming years, while reinforcing Netflix’s position as a leading destination for blockbuster films after their cinema runs.
