Netflix film chair Chief Scott Stuber is leaving the streaming video giant to start his own media company in mid-March, the Los Gatos-based company confirmed Monday.
Stuber, who joined Netflix in 2017, oversaw the streamer’s growth in the production and release of original movies, making Netflix one of Hollywood’s biggest producers in terms of pure volume.
Under his tenure, the company had its most popular movie of all time, the action flick “Red Notice,” as well as critically acclaimed films such as Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.”
“I am proud of what we accomplished and am so grateful to all the filmmakers and talent who trusted us to help tell their stories,” Stuber said in a statement.
Netflix was the most-nominated studio from 2020 to 2022 at the Academy Awards. Prior to joining Netflix, Scott founded Bluegrass Films, which was behind movies such as the Universal Pictures comedy “Ted,” and was a former vice chair of worldwide production at Universal.
“Scott has helped lead the new paradigm of how movies are made, distributed and watched,” said Netflix co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos in a statement. “He attracted unbelievable creative talent to Netflix, making us a premiere film studio.”
Over the years, Netflix dove deeply into original films to entice more customers to buy and retain their subscriptions, spending $159 million on the Martin Scorsese crime epic “The Irishman” and close to $200 million for “The Gray Man,” according to estimates.
The company experienced a surge in subscribers during the early days of the pandemic, but then in 2022 had subscriber losses in the first half of that year, sparking an industrywide reckoning with the streaming business model. Netflix has 247 million subscribers globally, making it the industry leader in subscription streaming video.
After Stuber leaves in mid-March, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria will serve as chair of Netflix film while she searches for someone to fill the role.