Netflix is adding more and more content to its portfolio to cater to the needs of all age groups. The latest feather to Netflix’s cap is the acquisition of exclusive subscription streaming rights to Smosh: The Movie, a teen comedy flick headlined by YouTube stars Anthony Hecox and Ian Padilla, says a report from Variety.
Smosh very popular movie
The film will debut on Netflix on September 22, which is two months after the release on Apple’s iTunes and Vimeo. Smosh creators Hecox and Padilla, who are childhood friends, have more than 30 million followers across various channels on YouTube managed by Defy Media. Smosh: The Movie is said to be a modern-day version of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
The movie revolves around an embarrassing video of Hecox that goes online just before his fifth high school reunion. The Smosh guys make a major effort to bring down the video clip, “teleporting into the pages of other YouTubers like Jenna Marbles, Grace Helbig and Markiplier,” ruining Anthony’s chances to reunite with his teen crush, Anna, the report says.
Within just a day of its release, the movie acquired the second spot on the iTunes movie ranking, and 1st position in comedy. For the complete week, the movie retained its position among the top 10. The film was released on DVD on August 18 exclusively through Walmart by 20th Century Fox, who is handling the distribution of the movie. The film has been co-produced by DreamWorks Animation’s AwesomenessTV and Defy Media, both of whom have refused to release sales figures, says the report.
Netflix trying to woo teens
Netflix is adding more content with which teens and tweens can relate to, and Smosh: The Movie could help the streaming firm in it. Apart from this, the streaming rights for Bad Night, a teen comedy from GRB Entertainment, have also been acquired by Netflix. The movie features YouTube stars Jenn McAllister (jennxpenn) and Lauren Luthringshausen, and is scheduled for a worldwide debut on September 4 on Netflix. The streaming firm also plans a new season of Degrassi, a popular high-school drama series.
In developing such content, Netflix is entering a fiercely competitive space, where players like YouTube, MTV, YouNow, Snapchat and Disney are trying to win viewers growing up in a streaming world.
