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Netflix is facing a $105 million lawsuit after a hard drive containing an unreleased Nicolas Cage war thriller was stolen from the streamer's Los Angeles office, according to court filings.
The film, titled "Fortitude," is a World War II-era espionage thriller centered on British intelligence operatives. It stars Cage alongside Matthew Goode, Michael Sheen and Ben Kingsley, and is directed by Simon West, known for "Tomb Raider" and "The General's Daughter."
Swiss businessman Simon Afram, who wrote the script and produced the film over seven years at a cost of $45 million, filed the lawsuit after an associate producer delivered a digital cinema package to Netflix headquarters in June for the company to evaluate the rights.
According to the complaint, the associate producer later attempted to retrieve the film, but Netflix did not respond for more than a week.
The company eventually confirmed via email that a number of hard drives, including the one containing "Fortitude," had been stolen from office desks.
"This is a first for us," Sean Berney, Netflix's director of original film, wrote in the email cited in the lawsuit. He said the company's security teams had been unable to recover the material and that piracy monitoring teams were on alert.
The lawsuit states that the film was delivered unencrypted, with the production team requesting the files be deleted after Netflix's internal screening.
It argues Netflix had a responsibility to store the film securely and that leaving it on an office desk created the conditions for the theft.
Netflix disputes the claim. In a statement, the company said it does not bear the risk of loss for a film delivered without industry-standard safeguards such as encryption or password protection.
It added that it does not hold the rights to "Fortitude" but has taken steps to support the filmmaker, including an internal investigation and monitoring of piracy sites for unauthorized distribution.
The lawsuit also alleges Netflix withheld details of its investigation and declined to confirm whether it had filed a police report, later resisting a request from the filmmakers to involve the Los Angeles Police Department after they filed their own report.
Afram's legal team maintains the theft has jeopardized the film's market value, pausing plans for an international release and awards campaign.
Netflix, in turn, said it has declined to share investigation details with Afram's legal team, citing what it described as an initial demand for $165 million before settlement discussions began.
"Fortitude" has faced setbacks before reaching this stage. In 2023, Afram sued director Martin Scorsese, alleging he accepted $500,000 to serve as an executive producer without fulfilling the role.
Scorsese's legal team countersued, arguing Afram held unrealistic expectations for a first-time filmmaker. The dispute was settled out of court the following year.
There is currently no indication the stolen film has been leaked or distributed, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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