Sony’s global Pay-One deal with Netflix has positioned the streamer as the first subscription home for its films after theatrical and transactional windows. Movie Tracker reveals the extent of how Sony's engagement with Netflix differs in markets where the SVOD already has Pay-One with Sony.
The US shows the greatest variation. Across the top three titles released by Sony in 2025, the time between theatrical release and Netflix ranges from around two and a half to four months. 'Karate Kid: Legends' took the longest to reach Netflix, while 'One of Them Days' moved more quickly through both transactional windows to reach the SVOD.
India broadly follows the same structure as the US. The sequencing of theatrical, transactional and Netflix releases is consistent, and the overall timing is similar. However, there are differences in execution. 'One of Them Days' does not include a PVOD window and reaches Netflix only a few days after its transactional release, unlike the other two titles which follow a more standard pattern.
The Netherlands shows a longer timeline. In each case, films arrived on Netflix after around seven months. The release pathway is also more limited, with no engagement in PVOD in this market at all.
'One of Them Days’, which did not see as much box office success as ’28 Years Later’ or ‘Karate Kid: Legends’, was the fastest to reach both transactional platforms and Netflix in the US, and also had a faster release in India. By contrast, 'Karate Kid: Legends' had the longest gap before Netflix in the US.
While Sony is set to unify Pay-One globally by 2019 with all of its titles premiering on Netflix, there has been no expectation set that this unification would extend to a global simultaneous release for titles. While Sony and Netflix may aim for release synergy where they can, markets like The Netherlands may see their Netflix subscribers waiting longer for Sony titles than others.
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