iWorld
Netflix ends 2021 with 222 million global subscribers
Mumbai: Netflix has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2021. The company reported revenue of $7.7 billion registering a growth of 16 per cent year-on-year.
The streaming giant added 8.3 million global paid subscribers in Q4 bringing its paid memberships up to 222 million at the end of 2021.
It reported full year revenue of $30 billion – a growth of 19 per cent year-on-year while operating income of $6.2 billion rose 35 per cent YoY. Netflix added 18 million subscribers in 2021 compared to 37 million subscribers in 2020. The company observed that more than 90 per cent of its paid net adds in 2021 came from outside the US and Canada (UCAN).
Netflix added 2.6 million paid subscribers from the APAC region with strong growth in both Japan and India. It generated $871 million in revenues from the APAC market with a subscriber base of 32.63 million, and reported 1.2 million paid adds from the UCAN region, 2.5 million from the EMEA region and 1.0 million from LATAM region.
“In December, we lowered our prices in India across all four plans. India is fairly unique because pay TV pricing is very low. We believe these new prices will make Netflix more accessible to a broader swath of the population – strengthening our value perception. Our goal is to maximize long term revenue in each of our markets,” it said in a statement.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
