Netflix wasn’t afraid to gamble. Whether it’s splashing over the drama of fame, chasing awards and throwing large sums of money at big hit hopes, the streaming giant has built its brand into bold and often dangerous bets. But its latest move, the $320 million SF Epic The Electric State, may still be the most risky.
When the streaming war is escalating, and profits become more difficult to get. Is this sustainable? And more importantly… does that make sense?
Netflix’s most expensive movies to date – and one of the most expensive movies in history
The electric condition of Joe and director Anthony Russo reportedly costs an astounding $320 million. Not only is it the most expensive film on Netflix so far, it is among the most expensive films in cinema history. According to widely cited industry sources (and yes, even Wikipedia’s unadjusted film budget list), it ranks 13th in history.
To put that in perspective, here electrical states sits alongside some of the biggest blockbuster budgets in history (in US dollars).
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): $447 Million Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018): $432 Million Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019): $416 Million Avengers: Endgame (2019): $356 Million Avatar: The Way of Way (2022): $350 Million
The electrical condition borders Marvel’s The Marvels ($307 million), landing just behind Avengers: Infinity War ($325 million).
But it’s here. Unlike these theatrical tent poles, the electrical condition is not on the big screen. Only available for Netflix. There’s no box office ticket sales, popcorn fuel weekend, and no global rollout to fill that profit. It lives and dies depending on how many people stream it. And that’s where things start to feel…it’s a bit muddy.
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Endgame makes sense. Is there an electrical condition?
The Russo brothers are no strangers to large budgets. They were behind Avengers: Endgame. After all, it cost $356 million and won an astounding $2.7 billion at the global box office. It was a price tag questioned by a few. A decade of Marvel storytelling has accumulated in its finale, with viewers from around the world appearing in record numbers.
In contrast, the electrical state is an adaptation of a lesser known illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag. Certainly, it features an ensemble cast filled with familiar faces starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. But it’s not part of a vast franchise. There is no built-in fanbase waiting for this. And with the buzz releases and failing to drive the buzz (and revenue), the $320 million budget feels like a much more difficult sell.
Why the electricity condition budget has skyrocketed to $320 million
So where did all the money go? It appears that several factors have started out heavily on visual effects and motion capture and pushed the budget for electrical states high, ending with a starry (and possibly properly compensated) ensemble cast.
Extensive CGI, motion capture, and long post-production
As robots are set in another ubiquitous 1990s, electrical states create a detailed, retort-futuristic world. Not just robots, but each one seems to be designed by itself, and it may not be cheap for movies. Rather than recycling assets or using simplified designs, filmmakers seem to have gone all-out on diversity and detail.
The reliance on CGI and motion capture would have been broad. It’s not just a matter of creating a fully realized, animated robot character, hitting a few effects and calling it a day. It involves spending months (and sometimes years) on post-production capturing performance on a set and refine all the movement, textures and interactions. The longer the posts, the more expensive you get. This is a team of VFX artists who work across the department, modify and render until they are right.
And in a world filled with robots, there’s no doubt that post-production has become one of the biggest costs of a film.
Then there’s the cast. Netflix doesn’t reveal what the stars have earned, but there are a few clues. Brown reportedly brought back $10 million to Enola Holmes 2, while Platt reportedly made $14 million at Jurassic World: Dominion. Given their influence, it is fair to assume that their involvement here was not cheap.
Alongside Brown and Pratt, the film features names such as Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Woody Harrelson, Brian Box, and Anthony Mackie. This is a lineup that won’t go out of place with Oscars and comic scams, and famous actors tend to have famous price tags. Adds the time-intensive nature of the audio recording session (especially when layering motion capture performance), looking at another major line item on your budget.
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Early Review: Insufficient critical reception raises questions
Despite all the money on the screen, the electrical state doesn’t burn the world. At the time of writing, he holds a roughly 14% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, earning an average of 30 on Metacritic and a 2.2 star on LetterboxD. Critics are poignant and call it “soulless,” “derivative,” and “repeat distracting repetition.”
However, the review tells only part of the story. What really matters to Netflix is what’s behind the scenes. Number of subscribers, viewing time, and retention rate. problem? Netflix is well known for sharing its data and often shoots Netflix words about statistics (source: Trust Me Bro). Without box office revenue or specific performance reports, we’re guessing whether the electric condition is a win, loss, or another content in an endless feed.
Even Russos admits it’s gambling
To their credit, the Russo brothers seem to understand the risks. Speaking to a Hollywood reporter, Joe Russo admitted, “Logically, it probably doesn’t make much sense to continue doing that.” Still, he added: “People still believe in ambition. Executives still believe in ambition. People still want branding with ambition. They still want that sexual attraction with ambition.”
Anthony Russo calls electrical states a “big test case” and notes the difficulty of turning streaming films into “events” when they “don’t go out to a wider market to declare that event.”
In other words, they want a hit. But hope is not a business model.
Netflix’s huge hit strategy is under scrutiny
Electrical Conditions are an example of Netflix’s all-in-block buster strategy. Previous mega-budget swings include Red Notice and The Grey Man (both $200 million), and six underground and Irishmen (over $150 million each). But this is different. At almost $320 million, electricity condition raised ante, and some.
With competitors like Disney+, Prime Video and Apple TV+ blowing their heads off, the willingness to throw a lot of money on Netflix’s Big-Name project is beginning to spark more scrutiny. There is no product revenue, theater box office revenue, or theme park tie-in. I hope people will continue to subscribe or sign up for another movie.
Some observers point to the obvious double standards in all of this. Damien Chazelle, for example, was hit after Babylon suffered a slow performance. Meanwhile, Russos continues to win huge budgets even after a warm reaction to Grayman and Prime Video’s expensive Citadel series.
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Is Netflix’s big budget movie strategy sustainable?
Even Joe Russo has his doubts. “I don’t think that will become a healthy part of the business model,” he admitted in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
And it’s not just the risk of the flop. It’s about opportunity costs. That $320 million allowed us to bankroll dozens of mid-budget films, a kind of prestige project that once defined the rise of Netflix. Films like Roma, Marriage Story, and The Power of the Dog have delivered awards, critical acclaim and cultural cachets. At all prices.
What’s next on Netflix?
There’s a hint that Netflix is rethinking its strategy – at least a bit. Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia adaptation chronicle is reportedly limited to IMAX. This is a shift to theatrical releases that help justify a big budget at the box office, giving projects like electric states a stronger chance than they feel like real events.
If the electrical state had been given a similar deployment, that large budget could have been easier to defend. At least it may be easier to measure.
For now, the electrical state exists as Netflix’s biggest gamble. This is a film that rivals Endgame at the cost, with no franchise or box office cushions being played.
Big swings can bring great rewards. After all, Netflix’s rise was built on risk. But once the dust settles into electrical state, one question remains.
Do the big swing need to be this big?
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