Netflix is facing a $105 million lawsuit from Swiss billionaire producer Simon Afram, who claims the streamer lost the unreleased Nicolas Cage thriller "Fortitude" after it was delivered to their Hollywood headquarters. Afram alleges the loss of the film's master copy constitutes a breach of contract and has jeopardized his $45 million investment.
The film, directed by Simon West and also starring Ben Kingsley and Ron Perlman, centers on the real-life World War II spy Dusko Popov, who inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond character. The production had a seven-year development period, with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio once attached to the project.
An unencrypted master copy of "Fortitude" was delivered to Netflix on June 15, with executives screening it the following day. Nine days later, on June 25, a Netflix Original Film director, Sean Berney, informed Afram's team that the digital cinema package (DCP) had been stolen from their offices.
In an email included in the lawsuit, Berney stated, "Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with our security teams to no luck." He added that Netflix's piracy teams were on alert but suggested the stolen drives were likely being sold for scrap as they would require a key delivery message to access. Berney offered to create a new DCP or reimburse Afram for the missing drive, an offer Afram's legal team described as valuing the missing $45 million film at approximately $800.
The lawsuit contends that Netflix knew about the theft for potentially a full week before informing the filmmakers, allowing the master copy to be stolen from their premises. Afram's attorneys are seeking $105 million, calculating the film's potential revenue at a minimum of 2.5 times its production budget, totaling $112.5 million, based on market interest, test screening scores, and genre appeal.
Netflix has disputed the claim, stating, "Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards." The streamer asserts that while they do not own the rights to "Fortitude," they are taking content security seriously. Netflix claims to have conducted an investigation, offered to monitor piracy sites, and declined to share details with Afram's legal team due to what they called "hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix."
Afram stated in a release that he spent seven years bringing the film to the screen and believes the cast and crew deserve recognition for their work. The worldwide rights to "Fortitude" remain available, and the film's sales process is ongoing. Afram's lawyers emphasized their obligation to protect the film's value and ensure it receives due recognition.