By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix Inc said on Tuesday it will release more than 70 movies this year to its U.S. customers across comedy, drama, family and other genres, a lineup that underscores the streaming service’s growing prominence in the film business.
The Netflix slate includes crime thriller “Red Notice” starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson, one of six action movies, and zombie heist film “Army of the Dead” from director Zack Snyder. The dozen comedies include “Don’t Look Up” with an all-star cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Meryl Streep and others.
All but four of the films will be available to Netflix customers in the more than 190 countries it serves. Ten of the movies are in languages other than English. Additional movies will be released in markets outside the United States.
Netflix is competing for viewers with a group of newer streaming services from Walt Disney Co, AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Apple Inc. Competition has intensified as the coronavirus pandemic has shuttered movie theaters and left home-bound audiences searching for entertainment.
The Netflix pace of releasing more than one film per week dwarfs that of other Hollywood studios. Disney, by contrast, currently plans to debut roughly two dozen movies this year in theaters and on its Disney+ streaming service, including four Marvel Studios films and two from Pixar.
The Netflix 2021 schedule includes 18 dramas, nine thrillers, eight animated films and eight romances.
Other notable titles include musical “tick, tick…BOOM” directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and “Bruised,” a drama that is the first movie directed by Halle Berry.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
