The streaming service’s movies feature Oscars winners and box office stars and are a reminder of its power in a Hollywood that has been irrevocably changed during the pandemic.
Last month, Disney revealed an enormous trove of new content for its streaming service, Disney+. That followed WarnerMedia’s announcement that all 17 of its films this year would be available on HBO Max the same day they debuted in theaters. And on Tuesday, Netflix — the biggest streaming service of them all, with 183 million subscribers worldwide — announced its 2021 film slate: some 70 movies featuring Academy Award winners, box office stars and a reminder of its power in a Hollywood that has been irrevocably changed during the pandemic. The normally secretive company made the announcement with the help of a fast-paced trailer. Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson, the high-profile stars of “Red Notice,” Netflix’s $160 million entry into the PG-13 action world, kicked off the video, which highlighted comedies, dramas, horror, family films and foreign-language movies. (The company did not disclose most of the release dates.) It concluded with Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio, the leads of Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” walking out of an aircraft carrier, a not-so-subtle reminder that the company, once an also-ran when it came to luring prestige filmmakers and big stars, is now an industry behemoth. “We have found our way into the business with some incredible, world-class filmmakers,” Scott Stuber, the head of Netflix’s film division, said in an interview. “People saying, ‘You’ll never be able to do it,’ was personally, the easiest way to make me go do it.” The director Jane Campion, an Oscar winner for “The Piano,” will make her Netflix debut with “The Power of the Dog,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst.
