DNEG, Netflix Announce Expansion Of Existing $350M Partnership

Netflix has signed a multiyear services renewal with Oscar-winning vfx and animation company DNEG which will see the streamer spend at least $350 million with the company through 2025.

Here are the details of the new deal.

• The agreement is non-exclusive and covers the provision of visual effects and virtual production services by DNEG for Netflix series and feature programming.
• This deal “extends and expands” on an existing agreement between the companies that was signed in September 2020. In that original agreement, Netflix would assign projects to DNEG worth a minimum of $350 million in services (as detailed in this SEC regulatory filing).
• Netflix and DNEG are currently working on several projects together including Stranger Things season four, Knives Out 2, The School for Good and Evil, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Witcher: Blood Origin.

• DNEG is also providing animation services for Nimona, picked up by Netflix last year and produced by Annapurna Pictures (Missing Link, Sausage Party).
• The company worked on previous Netflix titles including Locke & Key, Shadow & Bone, The Irregulars, Altered Carbon, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, among many others.
• According to DNEG, the new deal will allow the company to significantly expand on the vfx work it does for Netflix domestically and internationally. DNEG’s Redefine division will also supply vfx services and top-end creative supervision for select Netflix programming.
• In a press release, DNEG chairman and CEO Namit Malhotra said: “This agreement is transformative for DNEG and creates the opportunity for further expansion of our global scale and further investment in DNEG’s industry-leading technology. The signing of this multiyear agreement reflects the success of our partnership with Netflix to-date and validates DNEG’s strategic direction and worldwide growth initiatives.”
• DNEG is looking to expand its capacity by up to 40% by the end of 2022. The company has nearly 7,000 employees with worldwide offices and studios across North America (Los Angeles, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), Europe (London), and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, and Mumbai).
• Last week, DNEG opened its previously announced studio in the King West district of Toronto with 150 initial employees. The company is aggressively expanding its Canada-based vfx and animation operations and currently employs over 1,500 people in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
• DNEG announced earlier this year that it would go public via a merger with a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). The deal is expected to close in the coming months.

Pictured at top: “Stranger Things,” “Nimona,” “The School for Good and Evil”