Netflix is facing a $105 million lawsuit after allegedly losing the unencrypted master copy of an unreleased Nicolas Cage film, according to a complaint filed in California district court. The film, titled “Fortitude,” was delivered by associate producer Daniel Haido in a private screening between late 2025 and mid-2026, though Haido instructed Netflix to delete the files after the screening, but the company alleges the drive was stolen a week later.

Loss of Exclusivity Hurts Film’s Market Value

The complaint states that the film’s value was closely tied to its exclusivity and first-to-market status. “Fortitude,” which cost $45 million to produce and took over seven years to complete, tells the story of World War II’s Operation Fortitude, a real-life Allied deception campaign. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Dusko Popov, a real-life spy, alongside Sir Ben Kingsley and Ron Perlman.

The plaintiffs, Op-Fortitude Ltd. and its owner Simon Afram, claim the loss of the unencrypted files compromised the film’s distribution and marketing potential; they allege that the incident has forced them to pause sales and marketing efforts ahead of awards season. Test screenings had projected an 82% “top-two box” audience score, indicating strong audience reception, and conservative estimates suggested the film could generate at least $112.5 million in revenue,2.5 times its production budget.

Security Practices at the Center of Dispute

Netflix has denied wrongdoing, stating that the film was delivered without standard security safeguards like encryption or password protection, the company also accused the plaintiffs of attempting to extort money. According to the lawsuit, an executive at Netflix admitted that “someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week” in an internal email dated June 25. The plaintiffs argue that the theft occurred in a Netflix office and that the company failed to safeguard the files as expected.

While the plaintiffs claim that Netflix requested an unencrypted version to simplify the screening process, Netflix disputes that, asserting that encryption is standard practice and that the filmmakers voluntarily provided the unprotected copy. The lawsuit further accuses the company of covering up the security breach.

Industry Concerns Over Leaks and Future Negotiations

The plaintiffs argue that the incident will deter studios from buying the film’s rights, fearing that a version might leak and be released for free, This, they claim, will undermine negotiations with potential buyers and damage the film’s marketability. “The film’s value depended in significant part on its exclusivity as an unreleased, first-to-market work,” the complaint states — the film’s producers now face the challenge of protecting the work while still trying to sell it in a competitive market.

Meanwhile, in a separate but related development, recent Spider-Man film “Brand New Day” has been praised for its emotional depth and return to the core themes of the character. Critics highlight Tom Holland’s performance as a standout, while the film’s focus on personal conflict over multiverse chaos has been welcomed as a refreshing change for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.