Netflix understands the value of putting Eddie Murphy's face on a streaming thumbnail

According to historical averages, the typical Netflix director has achieved less acclaim, has lower box office returns, and has a shorter resume of prior directing credits—all while working with bigger budgets.

After ten years of original content production, many filmmakers are opting out of the great Netflix moviemaking experiment, even when it's in their best interest financially. The streamer has lost several high-profile bidding wars for top-tier filmmaking projects over the last few years.

• Weapons director Zach Cregger turned down a $50 million offer from Netflix for a $37 million budget from Warner Bros. and guarantees of a theatrical release.
• Netflix offered a staggering $150 million to Emerald Fennell and Margot Robbie for their upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights, but lost out to Warner Bros., which promised an $80 million budget and a traditional release.

This tech platform yearns for my monthly payment of $9.99 and must give me something in return for my almost-ten dollars. Rather than one single thing, Netflix gives you everything: hundreds of TV series, NFL games, a show called Is It Cake?, WWE, the SAG Awards, a few prestige movies, a boxing match featuring a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, and Love is Blind: Portugal.

Functionally speaking, there is no difference between The Irishman, Making a Murderer, The Queen's Gambit, Love is Blind: Sweden, and The Electric State. Netflix's goal remains the same: fill as many hours of my day as possible so I feel justified renewing for another month. I am not paying for any one thing; I'm paying for the promise of media abundance.