Netflix sets exclusive streaming deal with Sony for access to Uncharted, Morbius, and more blockbusters

Tom Holland in the Uncharted movie
(Image credit: Sony)

Netflix and Sony have reached a deal that gives the streaming service exclusive rights to the studio's theatrical releases, including Uncharted and Venom 2, within an 18-month window.

Deadline reports that the licensing deal replaces an agreement Starz and Sony had that dates back to 2005, and gives Netflix exclusive rights to stream Sony movies within a year-and-a-half after their theatrical release. The deal officially starts in 2022 and with the state of movie theaters still in flux due to COVID-19, it makes sense that Netflix will also "have a first-look deal for any direct-to-streaming titles Sony is contemplating." However, the likes of Morbius, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and other Sony movies will not be released on Netflix at the same time as a theatrical release, and these movies would seemingly end up on VOD services before heading to Netflix.

Other major streamers have recently been making movies available simultaneously in theaters and online. Godzilla vs. Kong was released in both US cinemas and on HBO Max at the same time. However, Warner Bros. – which owns HBO – has already said that simultaneous releases will not continue into 2022. Instead, the studio has made an agreement with Cineworld that movies will run for at least 45 days in theaters before heading online. Disney has likewise agreed to simultaneous Disney Plus and theatrical releases for Cruella and Black Widow, though those movies are only available through the $30/£20 Premiere Access.

Whether the Sony deal will fall into a similar 45-day timeframe in 2022 remains to be seen – that 18-month window opens things up and Sony will no doubt want to make as much money as possible when cinemas are running at full capacity again. This does, though, give Netflix access to a wealth of blockbusters.

Netflix revealed other Sony Pictures movies that will get the exclusive streaming window treatment, including Bullet Train, Where the Crawdads Sing, Morbius, Venom 2, the Jumanji sequel, and the Bad Boys sequel. 

While we wait for those Sony movies, be sure to check out the best Netflix movies streaming right now.

Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.

Read more
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
A Horizon Zero Dawn movie is on the way from Sony, and it's in the "early stages" now
Sony reportedly could have used Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in its Spider-Man Universe movies all along, but wanted to focus on the villains instead
Venom in The Last Dance
Scrapped Kraven the Hunter concept art reveals Venom connection cut from the movie
Sifu header
A Sifu movie is in the works at Netflix from the John Wick director
Daniel Craig in new James Bond movie No Time to Die
Amazon is taking over the James Bond franchise and fans are worried about the future of 007
Rebel Ridge
The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
Latest in Superhero Movies
The Toxic Avenger
Here's your first look at Peter Dinklage as the Toxic Avenger in ultra-violent, unrated, and long-delayed superhero movie remake
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
Batman and Catwoman talking
Robert Pattinson is hoping to team up with his The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz on another project soon
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Latest in News
Jurassic Park Survival
As Jurassic Park Survival, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, and the Star Wars KOTOR remake remain MIA, Saber CEO promises "everything that we have talked about is still in development"
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Zero Dawn star Ashly Burch responds to Sony's controversial AI Aloy by pushing for actor protections: "You have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you're using this AI"
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f's ESRB rating has zero chill: "Faces ripped apart," "a character burned alive inside a cage," and "entrails and sinew displayed on serving platters"
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f writer says many of the franchise's female characters experience "a great deal of suffering," so he wants his protagonist "to be able to make her own decisions, for better or for worse"
Starship Troopers
District 9 filmmaker Neil Blomkamp is working on a Starship Troopers reboot that goes back to the original 1959 novel
Nova's helmet sitting among rubble
Jonathan Hickman will "revolutionize Marvel's galactic canon" in a new event that brings in the Hulks, Black Panther, Nova, and more