LA’s Skydance Animation has inked a multi-year deal to develop and produce feature films for Netflix. The studio’s entire catalogue of animated features will also be exclusively available on the streamer. 

The first Skydance feature that will make its debut on Netflix sometime next year is Spellbound (pictured), which was originally set to launch on Apple TV+. And buddy comedy Pookoo from director Nathan Greno (Tangled), starring animal enemies who trade places, is now scheduled to drop on Netflix in 2025. Also in Skydance’s pipeline are Ray Gunn from director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and an untitled film based on the classic fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk, which Rich Moore (Zootopia) is directing. 

This move to Netflix marks the end of a previous agreement with Apple that the studio signed in 2021. It included Skydance’s CG-animated feature film Luck, which premiered on Apple TV+ last year.

However, upcoming animated series The Search for WondLa is still headed to Apple TV+, according to THR. And parentco Skydance Media will continue its partnership with Apple for live-action features. 

This news jibes with Netflix’s evolving animation strategy, which appears to be shifting away from in-house productions and towards third-party acquisitions. Last week, the streamer cut jobs at its in-house animation studio and hit pause on two projects.

But Netflix says animation is still important to its business. In the Q3 financial report it released yesterday, the streamer pointed to animated films and series as a major part of its programming mix—a sentiment that was echoed by co-CEO Ted Sarandos in an earnings interview: “There’s a lot of appetite for animated features, and we’re committed to this part of the business.” 

Sarandos added that deals like the Skydance partnership will help Netflix meet this demand at a steady pace. “It’s a very long cycle of development and production [for the genre]. Sometimes it can take a decade to deliver a really great animated feature film.” 

He also highlighted the many animated titles scheduled for release in Q4, from films like Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Aardman), to series such as CoComelon Lane (Moonbug). The streamer seems particularly committed to preschool right now, greenlighting three new originals for this audience in September to freshen up its offering in 2024.

Netflix added close to nine million new subscribers this quarter, reporting revenue of US$8.5 billion (up 7.8% from the same period last year) and seeing a nearly 70% membership lift for its ad-based tiers since Q2 this year. YA live-action series One Piece was among Netflix’s top-performing titles this quarter.