Netflix Accidentally "Lost" a $45M Nicolas Cage Movie

Netflix has found itself at the center of a major scandal. Producer Simon Afram and his company Op-Fortitude have filed a lawsuit in a California court, accusing the streaming giant of losing a hard drive containing the only unencrypted master copy of the unreleased war movie Fortitude, starring Nicolas Cage.

The plaintiffs estimate damages at $105 million, claiming the film's exclusivity and commercial potential have been completely destroyed.

How Did a $45 Million Film Go Missing?

According to court documents, the events unfolded as follows:

• December 2025: Netflix expressed interest in viewing the war drama, which took 7 years and $45 million to produce.

• June 15: An associate producer brought a hard drive with an unencrypted copy of the film directly to the Netflix office in Los Angeles for a private screening. Streaming representatives were asked to delete the material immediately after viewing.

• June 25: A top Netflix executive sent a letter to the producers delivering shocking news: the hard drive was missing. According to the executive, "last week someone stole a whole stack of drives right off desks in the office."

The producers maintain that no distributor will now invest tens of millions of dollars into a film living under the constant threat of being leaked online at any moment.

Netflix Pushes Back

Netflix representatives strongly disagree with the claims, stating they should not be held responsible for materials provided in violation of industry security standards.

"Although we do not own the rights to Fortitude, we take content security very seriously. Typically, films like this are delivered via password-protected links or encrypted digital packages (DCP with a KDM key). Unfortunately, the producers chose to provide us with an unencrypted hard drive."

The company also noted that it conducted an internal investigation and offered free monitoring of piracy sites for any potential leaks.

However, Afram’s attorneys counter that they acted strictly according to the platform's own instructions, which requested access to the files without encryption keys for the duration of the screening.

About the Movie

Directed by Simon West, the film is inspired by the real World War II Allied mission, Operation Fortitude. It tells the story of double agents who, alongside the British Army, set a successful disinformation trap for Adolf Hitler.