As the streaming wars continue and more platforms enter the competition, more and more companies are pouring buckets of money into their services in order to churn out high-quality original content of their own and attract people. Disney is gearing up to spend more than $25 million for every episode of their upcoming Disney+ Marvel TV shows, while Apple reportedly has a budget of around $6 billion to spend on producing original content for its streaming service Apple TV+.
But even then it is difficult to compare them to the biggest giant in the streaming industry, Netflix, which has been in the business for longer than anybody and plans to spend north of $17 billion on content in 2020. It has been made abundantly care that they do not care about the losses incurred in the process of producing these media, nor could they be bothered by the critic responses to these films as long as they are getting views, which they are.
The Ridiculous 6 - $60 Million
For a movie to get a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the most popular review-aggregator sites on the web is a rare occurrence and a most honorable one.
What is even rarer is for a movie to get a 0% rating, as that virtually indicates there's absolutely nothing good about it, and Netflix's The Ridiculous 6 is one of those unfortunate ones. Starring actor Adam Sandler is no stranger to getting his movies critically panned, but the most criticism regarding the movie was about its abysmal writing and comedy so poor it was deemed offensive.
Extraction - $65 Million
There really isn't much that distinguishes Chris Hemsworth's Extraction from the hundreds of other gun-toting action flicks released every year, except for its unique setting and the famous 12 minutes long action-filled sequence altered to look like a one-shot take.
Credit for the well-enacted action of the film goes to its director Sam Hargrave's history as a stuntman in several MCU films. The film quickly rose to the position of the most-watched original film on the platform, so as far as they are concerned it was a success by any and all means, which is why a sequel is already in the works.
The Old Guard - $70 Million
One of the highest-paid actresses in the world and something of a female equivalent of Tom Cruise when it comes to action flicks, Charlize Theron leads a band of immortal mercenaries as the 6 thousand-year-old "Andromache of Scythia" (the wife of Hector, one of the greatest fighters in Greek mythology whose name means "fighter of men") in The Old Guard.
The screenplay for the film was written by DC Comics writer Greg Rucka who also wrote the comic book series on which the movie is based on.
Project Power - $85 Million
Netflix's latest venture into the world of superpowered action-adventure Project Power released in August of 2020 and was directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, the duo behind Paranormal Activity 3 and 4.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 actor Jamie Foxx and Inception star Joseph Gordon-Levitt appear in the role of an ex-soldier and police officer (respectively) who team up with a teenage drug dealer to stop the spread of a dangerous drug called "Power" on the streets that grants people random temporary superpowers.
Bright - $90 Million
With Suicide Squad director David Ayer at the helm and none other than Will Smith in the lead role, Netflix's Bright was a greatly ambitious film that turned out to be one of the most critically flop movies of 2017 with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 28%.
Set in an alternate reality where humans and mythical creatures co-exist, Will Smith plays a police officer with an orc as his partner (played by The Great Gatsby actor Joel Edgerton) who wade through a variety of racial issues in their society. Although the "social commentary" present in the movie was one of its prime themes, it was heavily criticized for being too excessive and poorly executed.
Triple Frontier - $115 Million
Before being picked up by Netflix and released in 2019, the film Triple Frontier had been stuck in development hell for 9 long years and had gone through so many cast member changes that nearly half of all A-list male actors in Hollywood were in one way associated with it at some point, including but not limited to Johny Depp and Tom Hanks.
The final film, with its star-studded cast of Justice League star Ben Affleck and Game of Thrones actor Pedro Pascal and many other big names, told the story of 5 ex-military personnel who plan to commit a heist on a drug lord.
6 Underground - $150 Million
Director Michael Bay's fondness of cars, explosions, and exploding cars shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has seen his earlier works with the Transformers franchise, and it's an undoubtedly expensive taste.
Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds appears in the principal role along with a cast of popular French and Mexican actors, with a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who were also affiliated with Deadpool and also wrote Zombieland. Critic response to the film was average, the average consensus saying it was a typical Micael Bay film that attempted to coverup its poorly written plot with over the top action.
The Irishman - $159 Million
After making 9 films together, the Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro duo has rightfully earned its position as one of the most tried and tested formula's in Hollywood. When a person is preparing to watch a film by these two they know for a fact that they are going to be witness to a fine piece of cinema and the fact that The Irishman has a whole roster of other legendary actors in it such as Al Pacino and Joe Pesci is simply cherry on top.
A prime reason behind such a huge budget was the impressive "de-aging" CGI which was used to make the main featured characters appear younger.
Red Notice - $160 - $200 Million
Featuring Dwayne Johnson as an Interpol agent who is "the world's greatest tracker", Gal Gadot as "the world's greatest art thief" and Ryan Reynolds as "the world's greatest con-man", Red Notice is Netflix's upcoming high budget action thriller which will be a game of cat and mouse between law enforcement and a top tier criminal.
The world highest paid actor comes with a great performance track and an even greater price tag, and as Dwayne Johnson is also credited as a producer of the film as well a big portion of the budget will be spent as his salary.
The Gray Man - $200+ Million
Based on the novel of the same name by novelist Mark Greaney (best known as the co-author of some of the Tom Clancy books), Netflix's upcoming "mano a mano" (in their own words) espionage film is reportedly their biggest project yet.
Being written and directed by the Russo brothers, with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in the two main roles, the premise revolves around a character Court Gentry, a freelance assassin and ex-CIA officer. Netflix apparently has high hopes and big plans regarding this series, with an intention to create a James Bond type action franchise of its own.