Netflix reportedly paid over US$50 million for ‘Cloverfield Paradox’

As we get more details about Cloverfield Paradox’s debut on Netflix, we realize how smart a move it was for the studio to partner with the streaming service. The film has forgone a theatrical release and instead debuted on Netflix right after the Super Bowl on February 4. The move was supposedly a “rescue plan” by the film’s producer J.J. Abrams, Paramount chairman-CEO Jim Gianopulos, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos, and head of original films Scott Stuber, among others. They worried the film would “perish” at the box office so instead of letting it languish there when it was set to hit theaters on April 20, they went for this approach. Sources claim Netflix paid over US$50 million for the film. But Paramount retains rights for China and home entertainment.

This move made it profitable for the studio as well as avoiding a perceived misfire and costly marketing campaign for the film. And Netflix, who doesn’t seem to care if reviews or ratings are good, got what they wanted: buzz. “It gets them attention and captures some viewing right off the bat,” says eMarketer’s Paul Verna. They might not get the viewership they hope for the film but as Verna says, “they still got a brand jolt.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Netflix debuts ‘Cloverfield Paradox’ right after Super Bowl

Netflix has done something no streaming service has done before, drop a title it hasn’t promoted right after releasing its first trailer. It was reported before that the streaming service acquired Paramount and Bad Robot’s Cloverfield sequel and a Super Bowl spot promoting the film would come out. What hasn’t been announced was that Netflix will be making the film available for streaming right after the end of the Big Game. No other promotions have been done for the film ahead of this announcement. It’s a bold move but with a big audience it can be considered a wise move, too. The Super Bowl drew an average of 111.3M people in 2017.

As Deadline points out, this unusual marketing strategy complements the non-traditional marketing campaigns the original Cloverfield has done. Netflix describes the film’s plot as such: “In the near future, a group of international astronauts on a space station are working to solve a massive energy crisis on Earth. The experimental technology aboard the station has an unexpected result, leaving the team isolated and fighting for their survival.” It’s directed by Julius Onah and produced by J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber and stars Daniel Brühl, Roger Davies, Elizabeth Debicki, Aksel Hennie, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris O’Dowd, John Ortiz, David Oyelowo, and Zhang Ziyi.