Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are getting into business with Netflix, setting a first-look streaming deal for Artists Equity at the streamer.
Their company has forged a multi-year production and distribution pact with the tech giant. Under the terms of the partnership, Artists Equity will handle creative and production for its movies. This deal only covers straight-to-streaming titles. Artists Equity has an existing theatrical feature film agreement with Sony Pictures, under which the company will develop and produce films for the big screen.
“This is an incredible milestone for Artists Equity and one that validates the vision we’ve been working towards since 2022,” Damon and Affleck said in a statement. “From the jump, we’ve seen this growing need for an independent supplier comfortable across the entire creative process, from development to final cut. Netflix is a great match for our work.”
They praised Netflix Film’s chairman Dan Lin and his team for their “unique connection with the modern viewer and the ability to unite audiences over a shared cultural moment” before concluding, “we can’t wait to create many more ambitious, globally resonant stories together.”
This announcement follows the January launch of “The Rip,” an action thriller starring Damon and Affleck that spent three weeks at No. 1 on Netflix’s global top 10 charts. The movie got 112.3 million views over six weeks, according to the streamer’s vague metrics. Later this year, Netflix will release Affleck’s next directorial feature, “Animals,” in which he’ll also act alongside Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun. “Animals” follows a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife who have to come up with ransom money after their son is kidnapped.
“We’re expanding our partnership with Artists Equity because they share our mission — to make bold, original films,” Lin said. “Ben and Matt don’t wait for opportunities, they create them: from making and starring in ambitious, original films, to building an innovative studio model. Audiences worldwide are loving ‘The Rip,’ and we can’t wait to share the thriller ‘Animals’ later this year. Formalizing this relationship means we will be making even more memorable movies together.”
Artists Equity is a production venture backed by RedBird Capital Partners that aims to expand profit participation and provide a “talent-friendly” environment to creatives. Affleck and Damon have said their goal is to “fill a substantial gap in the marketplace as an outside supplier with the full capabilities of a traditional studio — developing, financing, producing, and overseeing all aspects of the creative process.” Artists Equity currently operates across three divisions: scripted film and television, unscripted, and advertising.
Since launching in November 2022, Artists Equity has released films including the Nike drama “Air,” starring Damon and Affleck; inspirational sports story “Unstoppable” led by Jennifer Lopez; the Affleck and Jon Bernthal-led crime sequel “The Accountant 2 and the “Kiss of the Spider Woman” remake with Lopez, Diego Luna, and Tonatiuh, at studios including Amazon MGM, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.
While promoting “The Rip,” Damon pulled back the curtain on working for the streamer. He said Netflix executives want their movies to restate the plot “three or four times in the dialogue” because they know that viewers are on “their phones while they’re watching.”
“The standard action movie [has] three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third,” Damon said on Joe Rogan’s podcast. “You spend most of your money on the third act. That’s your finale. And now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay. And it wouldn’t be terrible if you reiterated the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching.’”