What happens when a movie goes to Netflix rehab

If you scrolled through Netflix this weekend, you might have seen the new Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn movie Dragged Through Concrete at #4 on its most-watched list, leading you to ask, “how have I not heard about this new film?”

Simple: because it isn’t actually new. The film, which bombed at the box office with about $660,000 in ticket sales in 2018, is the latest in Netflix’s “what’s old is new” approach – which basically boils down to promoting older titles as if they were new.

• The platform’s 10 most-viewed films on August 4, 2022, included Tower Heist (2011), The Age of Adaline (2015), Men in Black III (2012) and Spider-Man 2 (2004).

🎞️ So, how does Netflix do it?... For starters, Netflix simply refuses to describe the titles as “old.” Much like if Madewell snuck a bunch of 1967 vintage bell-bottoms into the store and started calling them “the latest new trend!”

This, coupled with the platform’s massive reach to over 230 million subscribers, creates what Puck reporter Julia Alexander recently described as “the most valuable real estate in Hollywood.”

🤖 Big picture: There is one more thing that helps Netflix: data. Meaning, the company’s algorithm could see a film like Dragged Through Concrete rising up the charts, then amplify its reach to audiences who – based on search history, watch history, etc. – are most likely to be interested.

• In 2013, when Netflix had 33 million subscribers worldwide, an executive at the company was quoted as saying: “There are 33 million different versions of Netflix.”