Netflix faces $105 million lawsuit over missing Nicolas Cage war film

CALIFORNIA: A missing hard drive has landed Netflix in legal trouble. The streaming giant is facing a $105 million lawsuit after an unencrypted copy of the unreleased World War II film Fortitude allegedly disappeared from its headquarters while the company was evaluating whether to acquire distribution rights.

The lawsuit was filed by Swiss producer Simon Afram, who claims he spent seven years and around $45 million developing the film, which stars Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley.

According to the complaint, an associate producer delivered a digital cinema package (DCP) containing the film to Netflix’s offices in June for an internal screening. When the team later attempted to collect the drive, they allegedly encountered delays before being informed that it had been stolen.

Afram argues that Netflix failed to safeguard the film after accepting delivery. The lawsuit alleges that the unencrypted copy was left unsecured in the company’s offices despite the producer informing Netflix that the DCP was not encrypted and requesting that it be deleted after the screening.

The producer contends that the disappearance of the film has jeopardised its exclusivity and commercial value, potentially affecting future distribution opportunities. The lawsuit also claims Netflix has not shared details of its internal investigation or confirmed whether the incident was reported to law enforcement.

Netflix has denied liability, arguing that the film was delivered without industry-standard security measures, such as encryption or password-protected access, which are commonly used when handling unreleased content. The company maintains that responsibility for protecting the material did not rest solely with Netflix under those circumstances.

The streaming company said it has conducted an internal investigation into the incident and has offered to monitor piracy platforms for any unauthorised distribution of the film. According to the company, there is currently no evidence that Fortitude has leaked online.

The legal dispute adds another chapter to the film’s turbulent production history. In 2023, Afram sued Martin Scorsese over his role as executive producer on the project, alleging he failed to fulfil agreed responsibilities. That dispute was settled out of court in 2024.

With the film’s release still uncertain and the lawsuit now before the courts, the case is set to test where responsibility lies when unreleased content goes missing in an era where digital security is as valuable as the content itself.