Netflix Just Refused to Release Two of Its New Movies

Netflix will no longer distribute two completed feature films, The Inheritance and House/Wife, with filmmakers looking for distribution elsewhere. The Inheritance, directed by Alejandro Brugués and produced by Paul Schiff, and House/Wife, directed by Danis Goulet and produced by Tripp Vinson and Daniel Bekerman, were genre films that Netflix had planned to release but has now canceled, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After both feature films had finished production, HBO Max announced that both the DC feature film Batgirl and the animated movie Scoob! : Holiday Haunt would be shelved. Reports indicated they were the victims of Warner Bros. Discovery's new corporate strategy, which involved taking a tax write-off on the movies' budgets. The reason why Netflix decided to unload both shows is not entirely apparent. Still, one distinction from the HBO Max titles is that The Inheritance and House/Wife are both being shopped elsewhere, the outlet reported.

As Netflix attempts to maintain its $17 billion content budget while focusing on profits from its more than 230 million subscribers worldwide, its decision to drop the two titles comes as the streamer continues to offload content. With its new ad tier option, the streamer added 7.66 million paid subscribers to its Q4 report last week. According to THR, the streamer reduced its film wagers but has a busy slate of titles in the near future, including Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston's Murder Mystery 2 on March 31, Jennifer Lopez's Mother on May 12, and Chris Hemsworth's Extraction 2 on June 16. During the Sundance Film Festival, Netflix was a major buyer, acquiring the highest-profile premiere, Fair Play, for $20 million.

The evening before billionaire Charles Abernathy's 75th birthday, The Inheritance tells the story of how, according to its description, "he invites his four estranged children back home out of fear that tonight someone — or something is coming to kill him. To ensure his family will help protect him from whatever's coming, Abernathy puts each of their inheritances on the line they'll get nothing if he's found dead by dawn." Writers Joe Russo and Chris LaMont penned the movie that stars Bob Gunton, Peyton List, Austin Stowell, Briana Middleton, David Walton, and Rachel Nichols. House/Wife follows the premise of, "a mother recovering from a brutal accident moves into a prototype smart home with her family, only to find the house's AI system may have sinister intentions." Written by Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen, the film stars Alice Braga, Kris Holden-Ried, and Sarah Gadon.