Netflix Challenges $105M Theft Liability Claim Over Stolen Film
Film producer sues Netflix for $105M over stolen film; Netflix disputes liability citing inadequate producer security.
Event / Security
Netflix Fortitude Film Theft Lawsuit
A Nicolas Cage World War II film was stolen from Netflix's Los Angeles office in June 2026. Producer Simon Afram filed a $105 million lawsuit in July 2026, alleging the theft destroyed the film's marketability. Netflix disputes liability, claiming the materials lacked industry-standard security, while Afram's team contends Netflix failed to secure them. Netflix also alleges Afram's lawyers attempted extortion.
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2026-08-14 to 2026-11-11 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 1 Aug, 01:18 UTC
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What happened
Hard drive containing unreleased Nicolas Cage film stolen from Netflix office
A hard drive containing an unencrypted master copy of the unreleased World War II film "Fortitude" was stolen from Netflix's Sunset Bronson Studios office in Los Angeles on or around June 15, 2026. The drive was hand-delivered by a producer for the film to Netflix for internal screening purposes. Netflix notified the filmmakers approximately 10 days later that the drive had been stolen along with several other drives from office desks.
Producer sues Netflix for $105 million over stolen film
Writer and producer Simon Afram and his company Op-Fortitude filed a lawsuit in California federal court seeking $105 million in damages from Netflix. The lawsuit alleges that Netflix's failure to secure the unencrypted master copy of "Fortitude" destroyed the film's marketability and sale value by compromising its exclusivity as an unreleased project.
Netflix disputes liability for stolen film, blames unprotected delivery
Netflix stated that it disputes bearing responsibility for the loss of the film, arguing that it was delivered without proper industry-standard security safeguards. The company stated it does not own rights to "Fortitude" but takes content security seriously and has investigated the theft and monitored piracy sites for unauthorized distribution.
Film producer invested $45 million in seven-year "Fortitude" production
Producer Simon Afram invested more than $45 million in the production of "Fortitude," a World War II spy thriller directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, Ed Skrein, and Ron Perlman. The film took seven years to complete and was in the process of being sold to Netflix or another distributor at the time of the theft.
Netflix accuses producer's lawyers of extortion attempt
Netflix alleged that the legal representatives of producer Simon Afram made a hostile attempt to extort $165 million from Netflix over the stolen film incident, rather than working in good faith. Netflix cited this hostile approach as the reason for declining to share investigation details with Afram's attorneys.
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