Artists Equity, the film and television studio founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Gerry Cardinale, has reached a first-look production and distribution agreement with Netflix, expanding the company’s footprint in streaming while maintaining its theatrical partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Under the arrangement, Netflix will receive the first opportunity to develop and distribute films produced by Artists Equity for the streaming platform. The agreement adds a second major distribution pipeline for the studio, which was launched in 2022 with a model designed to give filmmakers and key crew members a larger share of profits.
The deal follows the release of The Rip, an Artists Equity-produced crime drama that premiered on Netflix earlier this year. Since its Jan. debut, the film has generated about 112 million views globally on the platform, according to company data, helping drive discussions between the two companies toward a broader partnership.
The agreement underscores Netflix’s continued push to secure high-profile production partners as competition among streaming platforms intensifies. For Artists Equity, the pact provides access to Netflix’s global subscriber base while preserving its existing theatrical pipeline through Sony, which distributes the studio’s big-screen releases.
Artists Equity was founded by Affleck and Damon alongside Cardinale, the chief executive of private-equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. The company was launched with the goal of restructuring Hollywood compensation models by allocating a greater portion of backend profits to filmmakers, actors and below-the-line workers involved in a production.
Since its formation, the studio has backed several projects across film and television, positioning itself as a filmmaker-driven production company that blends traditional studio partnerships with new distribution channels.
For Netflix, the arrangement adds another talent-focused partnership at a time when the company continues to invest heavily in original films to attract and retain subscribers worldwide. The streaming service has increasingly leaned on first-look agreements with established producers and actors to secure a steady pipeline of high-profile projects.
Financial terms of the Artists Equity agreement were not disclosed.
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