Netflix released its first original film, 'Beasts of No Nation', in 2015. Cary Joji Fukunaga's war drama was released globally on Netflix on October 16, 2015, alongside a limited theatrical release handled by Bleecker Street.
The film follows Agu, a young boy forced to become a child soldier during a civil war in an unnamed West African country. It stars Abraham Attah as Agu and Idris Elba as the Commandant, and it was adapted from Uzodinma Iweala's 2005 novel of the same name.
Its simultaneous cinema-and-streaming release was a major turning point for Netflix's film strategy. Large American theater chains boycotted the film because the online release bypassed the traditional theatrical exclusivity window. The movie premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where Attah won the Marcello Mastroianni Award.