Netflix Reportedly Paid More Than $50 Million For THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX

Some interesting new details have surfaced regarding producer J.J. Abrams' The Cloverfield Paradox that explains why and how it ended up on Netflix. As you know, in a big surprise move, during the Super Bowl, Netflix announced that the film would premiere right after the big game. It was a brilliant marketing strategy that paid off. Yeah, the movie wasn't met with the best reviews, but some people did enjoy it.

According to THR, the marketing stunt was "a rescue plan hatched by Abrams, Paramount chairman-CEO Jim Gianopulos, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos and head of original films Scott Stuber, among others."

It seems like everyone at the studio was actually worried that The Cloverfield Paradox was going to "perish at the box office". As a way to save the film, Abrams pitched the plan to Netflix and they liked the plan so much that they paid over $50 million dollars for the film. However, Paramount Pictures retained the rights for China distribution and home entertainment. According to the report:

It makes the movie instantly profitable for the studio, which avoids a (likely) misfire and costly marketing campaign. And Netflix got what it was looking for, regardless of withering reviews (18 percent on Rotten Tomatoes at press time): buzz.

eMarketer’s Paul Verna offered some additional insight saying:

“It gets them attention and captures some viewing right off the bat. And even if the streamer doesn’t ultimately get the viewership it hoped for Paradox, they still got a brand jolt."

In the end, everyone seemed to win from the deal. Well... everyone except the people that didn't like the movie. I actually enjoyed it more than most people. I thought it was a lot of fun and enjoyed the crazy weirdness of it. 

Obviously, Paramount wasn't very confident in the film. They still hold the rights to the next installment of the Cloverfield franchise, Overlord, and as of right now they still plan on releasing that in theaters.