Netflix to pay crew bonuses for Affleck and Damon’s 'The Rip'

Netflix agreed to pay the entire production crew of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s new film, The Rip, a one-time bonus if the movie performs well on the service, the companies said. The film is set to debut on Netflix next Friday. Under the Artists Equity contract, all 1,200 people involved in the nearly $100 million production will be eligible for a bonus tied to the film’s performance, a departure from Netflix’s usual practice of paying a set fee determined upfront.

Mr. Affleck said, “We wanted to institute fairness and address some of the real issues that are present and urgent for our business,” and said he and Mr. Damon formed Artists Equity in late 2022 with an investment from RedBird Capital to pursue that aim. Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said the company’s model of paying more upfront "worked for the talent and the streaming giant," and added, "We are not dogmatic.

We wanted to be in business with Matt and Ben." Bonuses for The Rip will be judged on the film’s performance over 90 days and rated against other films on the service, Mr. Affleck said; he declined to share the specific metrics. He said the top, or "grand slam," level would require viewership similar to KPop Demon Hunters, which had 325 million views by August, though he did not expect The Rip to reach that.

Key Topics

Business, Netflix, The Rip, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Artists Equity