Netflix Still Wants to Be ‘Aggressive’ with Film Acquisitions Out of Festivals

At an event on Wednesday afternoon, film chief Dan Lin, who has bought "Emilia Peréz" and "Train Dreams," said he has his eye on Cannes this year.

In the two years since Dan Lin was named the film chief at Netflix, he has greenlit 88 films — and counting — and the streamer this year is on pace to release seven movies a month, including four different event films each year, like Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia,” which is on the way this Thanksgiving.

That’s a lot of movies, and with Netflix increasingly looking to build out content with its own library of stuff made in-house, it begs the question whether Netflix is still the major acquisitions player it used to be. Once upon a time, when Netflix was still a burgeoning streamer with deep pockets, they were the ones setting the pace on the indie film markets at Sundance, Cannes, and TIFF, scooping up multiple titles — and doing so for record amounts.

At a press event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 18, Lin said he’s still looking to be aggressive with acquisitions and believes in a healthy balance for his film slate.

“We’re definitely building movies, so we’re not just relying on acquisition, so we’re both building movies internally and then also being very aggressive when it comes to movies that we’re passionate about in the acquisitions marketplace,” Lin said in response to a question from IndieWire. “But we’re actively going out to the upcoming festivals, Cannes being the next big out. But we’re out there hunting. But again, it’s a balance of both. We want to build some movies that have prestige but also acquire some as well.”

Lin, in one of his first moves as film chief after the exit of Scott Stuber, bought “Emilia Pérez” out of Cannes, and Netflix at last year’s Sundance bought “Train Dreams,” which also went on to a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.

Netflix was quiet at this year’s Sundance, though it was in the mix on Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” before it went to A24, and the documentary division did buy the award-winning documentary short “The Baddest Speech Writer of All” from directors Ben Proudfoot and NBA star Steph Curry. It has also, in recent years, bought more commercial titles like “Fair Play” and “It’s What’s Inside” that aren’t necessarily in the Oscar race.

One of Lin’s hallmarks since taking over has been to organize his film team leaders based on genre, so individual executives are focused on producing 3-4 films a year each within distinct genres like comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, etc. He said in the event that he wants to make someone’s “favorite movie,” whether that’s a popcorn thriller or a prestige drama.

On the other side of the coin, creative chief Bela Bajaria also spoke briefly to maintaining the same balance in its content via original films and other Pay-1 deals from both Universal and its recently extended pact with Sony.

“All that money given to them also helps them invest in [other] movies that go in the theater to help our friends,” Bajaria added. The majority of the top 10 films and series in the second half of 2025 were for its original titles, though it still relies heavily on licensed, Pay-1 content from other studios.

We’ll see if Netflix winds up putting its money where it’s mouth is on the Croisette this summer.