Netflix and Paramount Officially End Their Animated Film Partnership

Netflix made one of its boldest animation bets back in 2023, striking a deal with Skydance Animation that industry watchers quickly nicknamed the streamer’s own version of “Pixar 2.0.” Led by former Pixar chief John Lasseter, the studio brought a wealth of top-tier animation talent over to Netflix after a brief earlier stint releasing projects through Apple TV+.

That partnership delivered some genuine hits along the way. Skydance Animation’s ‘Spellbound’ arrived on Netflix in 2024, and its animated film ‘Swapped’ went on to become one of the platform’s most-watched movies ever, racking up roughly 144.9 million global views. The studio’s slate also included the Emmy-winning series ‘Wondla’ and the acclaimed short film ‘Blush,’ both produced for Apple TV.

That momentum has now come to an end. According to a Deadline exclusive, Netflix and Paramount, which absorbed Skydance Animation following its merger, have mutually agreed to conclude their animated film agreement entirely. The deal, originally struck directly with Skydance Animation before the Paramount merger folded that label under the larger company, will not be renewed going forward.

Both companies stressed that the split doesn’t affect projects already in the pipeline. In a joint statement, representatives for Netflix and Paramount said the two companies remain fully committed to the successful releases of Brad Bird’s ‘Ray Gunn,’ which is hoping to factor into this year’s awards season conversation, along with Rich Moore’s untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project, while also continuing their broader, longstanding content licensing relationship beyond animation.

The split appears to be part of a larger strategic pivot for Skydance Animation itself. Following the release of its next Netflix title, the studio plans to move away from streaming-first releases entirely and return to a traditional theatrical distribution model, shifting its future slate toward Paramount Pictures instead, with Warner Bros. potentially involved as well depending on the outcome of an ongoing corporate merger.

That theatrical pivot is already taking shape with Skydance Animation’s next announced project, ‘Cosmic Motors,’ a sci-fi vehicle adventure marking Lasseter’s own return to the director’s chair, co-directed alongside Louie Del Carmen. That kind of hands-on creative involvement from Lasseter signals just how central this rebrand toward traditional cinema releases is to the studio’s next chapter.

Despite the animated film agreement winding down, Netflix and Paramount’s relationship is far from over. Paramount will continue licensing a range of other content to the streamer, including series like ‘Matlock,’ ‘The King of Queens,’ ‘SEAL Team,’ ‘Watson,’ and ‘NCIS,’ keeping the two companies connected well beyond animation even as this particular chapter closes.

For Netflix, the end of the Skydance Animation deal marks the conclusion of one of its more ambitious original animation bets, even as the streamer continues building out its broader content library through ongoing licensing arrangements. For Paramount, the shift toward theatrical distribution for Skydance’s future slate fits into the studio’s larger strategy as it continues expanding its film business following its recent corporate consolidation.

With ‘Ray Gunn’ and the untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project still set to arrive on Netflix as planned, audiences won’t feel the impact of this split immediately, but the broader shift signals a genuine change in direction for one of animation’s most closely watched creative partnerships.

Skydance Animation operates as a standalone label under Paramount Pictures, run independently from Paramount Animation under Jennifer Doge, giving Lasseter’s team a distinct creative identity separate from the studio’s more traditional animated output. That independence likely gives Skydance more flexibility as it navigates this transition back toward theatrical releases, without needing to fold directly into Paramount’s existing animation pipeline.

The timing of the split also arrives amid broader upheaval across the streaming and studio landscape, with major consolidation efforts reshaping how content gets financed, distributed, and licensed industry-wide. Against that backdrop, Netflix and Paramount’s decision to wind down this specific agreement while preserving their wider licensing relationship suggests both companies are being deliberate about which partnerships still make sense heading into an increasingly unpredictable media environment.