Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Production Company Artists Equity Signs First-Look Deal With Netflix

Summary

• Artists Equity, the studio co-founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Gerry Cardinale, has officially entered into a first-look production and distribution agreement with Netflix
• The new deal focuses on original films intended for direct-to-streaming release, running alongside the company’s existing theatrical partnership with Sony Pictures
• The announcement follows the massive success of their latest collaborative film, The Rip, which has racked up 112 million views since its January 2026 release

Following the massive streaming success of their crime thriller The Rip, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck‘s production company, Artists Equity, has officially signed a first-look production and distribution deal with Netflix.

Formalizing a highly lucrative relationship, the newly announced partnership focuses specifically on producing bold, original films intended for direct-to-streaming releases. Netflix film chairman Dan Lin praised the agreement, stating, “We’re expanding our partnership with Artists Equity because they share our mission – to make bold, original films. Ben and Matt don’t wait for opportunities, they create them: from making and starring in ambitious, original films, to building an innovative studio model.”

The streaming agreement arrives on the heels of the studio’s massive success with The Rip. Directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Damon and Affleck alongside a stacked ensemble cast, the action thriller has already generated over 112 million views on Netflix since premiering on January 16. The production notably featured a groundbreaking, performance-based bonus structure that distributed profits equitably among the film’s 1,200 crew members—a precedent-setting move for the streaming giant.

Looking ahead, Artists Equity already has its next major project lined up with the streamer. The upcoming film Animals will be directed by and star Affleck as a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is held for ransom, featuring a supporting cast that includes Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, and Steven Yeun. Notably, this new direct-to-streaming partnership with Netflix will exist simultaneously alongside Artists Equity’s previously established global theatrical deal with Sony Pictures.

Artists Equity and Netflix are currently in production on their next collaborative feature film, Animals, which is expected to premiere on the streaming platform later in 2026.