Netflix Shells Out $50 Million For David Yates’ Next Film Pain Hustlers

Netflix has acquired Fantastic Beasts director David Yates’ next film, Pain Hustlers, for a staggering $50 million. Emily Blunt is attached to star in the film, which is described as a conspiracy comedy-drama, similar in tone to American Hustle, The Big Short, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

The plot synopsis for Pain Hustlers (via Deadline) reads:

“The film centers on Liza Drake (Blunt), a high-school dropout dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter, who lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical start-up in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida. Liza’s charm, guts and drive catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the center of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences.”

Although Pain Hustlers’ premise is quite intriguing, is the film really worth $50 million? Apparently, Netflix thinks so. Pain Hustlers is Netflix’s first major Cannes Film Market deal, and the company does seem confident in the crime drama’s chances of success.

Interestingly, this news comes amid reports of Netflix facing financial troubles due to overspending on content. Just a few days ago, the streamer laid off more than 150 employees to counter dwindling subscribers and slow revenue growth. And last week, Netflix released new guidelines for the staff, urging them to spend the consumers’ money wisely and leave the company if they find the content offensive.

It is clear that the free rein Netflix gave to its employees adversely affected the company’s growth, and it is now trying to make better long-term creative decisions. Netflix is also facing a class-action lawsuit for similar reasons – misleading shareholders about subscriber growth.

Amidst so many setbacks and fan uproar over frequent cancellations of TV shows, if Netflix is willing to put up $50 million for a streaming exclusive crime comedy like Pain Hustlers, then the film must be something truly special.

Pain Hustlers is written by acclaimed author Wells Tower. Lawrence Grey is producing the film through his Grey Matter Productions along with David Yates and Yvonne Walcott Yates’ Wychwood Pictures. Pain Hustlers doesn’t have a release date yet but will commence production in late August.

Related: Netflix Targets Rebellious Employees in New Memo, Says They Won’t Bow Down to Censorship

David Yates Prioritizing Netflix’s Pain Hustlers Could Put Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts Series On Hold

Pain Hustlers is set to film this August, and David Yates could be occupied in post-production till next year. What impact will it have on Warner Bros.’ Wizarding World plans? Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released this April to mixed reviews and massively underperformed at the box office. WB has previously stated that the plans for the final two films in the Fantastic Beasts series will depend on the reception of The Secrets of Dumbledore. And with David Yates moving on to other projects after being with the studio since 2007, it’s apparent that WB is reconsidering its Wizarding World universe.

But that doesn’t mean the franchise is dead. Fans would be delighted to know that the new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, David Zaslav, is looking to make more Harry Potter content for HBO Max. As per the recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Zaslav will meet with controversial author J.K. Rowling to further discuss the matter. Hopefully, Yates will return for at least one last film to satisfactorily conclude the Fantastic Beasts series.

As for Emily Blunt, she’ll next appear alongside Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s period thriller Oppenheimer. She is also in talks to return in Jungle Cruise 2 and A Quiet Place 3.

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