Netflix sued for $105m over stolen Nicolas Cage film
Netflix is being sued for $105 million after a hard drive containing an unreleased Nicolas Cage World War II thriller, Fortitude, was stolen from the streamer's Los Angeles office. Producer Simon Afram claims the $45 million film's market value and awards campaign have been put in jeopardy.
Key Takeaways
- A digital copy of Fortitude, starring Nicolas Cage, was stolen from Netflix's Los Angeles office after a June screening.
- Swiss producer Simon Afram is seeking $105 million, saying the $45 million film's sale and awards push are at risk.
- Netflix disputes liability, arguing the film arrived without industry-standard safeguards, and says it is investigating.
- So far there is no public sign the thriller has leaked online, according to reporting on the case.
What happened to the Nicolas Cage film Fortitude?
According to a lawsuit filed in federal court in California's Central District, an associate producer hand-delivered an unencrypted digital cinema package of Fortitude to Netflix's Hollywood headquarters on June 15 so the streamer could consider buying rights. Executives screened the film the next day.
Nine days later, Sean Berney, a Netflix film executive, emailed that drives had been stolen from office desks. "This is a first for us," he wrote, adding that security teams had not recovered them and piracy monitors were on alert. The London-set espionage story, directed by Simon West, stars Cage with Ben Kingsley, Matthew Goode, Michael Sheen and others, and centers on real-life WWII spy Dusko Popov.
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Why is Netflix being sued for $105 million?
Afram, who wrote the script, produced the film and personally financed its reported $45 million budget, alleges breach of contract and negligence. The complaint says Netflix left the drive on a desk, waited nearly a week to disclose the theft, and later declined to involve the LAPD as makers requested after filing their own report.
The suit argues exclusivity and a worldwide release plus awards strategy are now compromised. Damages are pegged to an estimate that the film could have earned at least 2.5 times its budget. Afram said he spent seven years bringing the story to screen and that cast performances "deserve to be seen and recognized." Variety and other outlets reported the filing.
How has Netflix responded to the Fortitude lawsuit?
Netflix says it does not own Fortitude rights and disputes that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without proper safeguards. It says it has investigated, offered to monitor piracy sites, and offered to create a new DCP or reimburse the missing drive. The company also accused Afram's lawyers of demanding $165 million rather than working in good faith.
The filmmakers' side says Netflix had asked for keys open through the June 16 screening and was told the package was unencrypted, with instructions to delete files afterward. Page Six reported worldwide rights remain available and the sale process continues, while sources told Variety there was still no sign of a leak.