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As was touted at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, 2018 was set to be a really big year for Netflix in terms of movies. Including acquisitions, they’d be set to release around 80 or so original films over the course of the year. We’re now a decent way through the year, and even most of their most ambitious projects have seemingly fallen short.

Sure, Bright and Death Note have done well enough to warrant sequels, but they haven’t exactly set the world on fire on a blockbuster level, and in terms of prestige, nothing has really gone on to be a critical darling. In stark contrast to their television shows, their films seem to largely be a result of them going for quantity over quality. This coming season will be huge for Netflix, and important for chief of Netflix film division Scott Stuber, who will be seeing the movies he set in motion start to hit.

One important film comes from Alfonso Cuarón, whose impressive work includes movies like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, and Gravity. His latest film, Roma, seems poised to be a critical darling, and its success or failure may help dictate whether filmmakers want to move forward with the streaming service in the future.

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“Roma will be the [key] film for Netflix because if they can’t get it at least a foreign-language nomination, something is wrong, and filmmakers will stay away,” a source who saw the film told THR.

It’s no secret that the studio has spent billions of dollars to beef up their original content, but if their films continue not to leave much of an impact, that could spell trouble for Stuber, as CFRA Research analyst Tuna Amobi noted.

“They are in the ‘experimentation’ phase. They have a track record in TV, but investors worry that budgets can get out of hand in film. Investors want to see a track record of success in movies, but Netflix hasn’t clearly articulated a strategy.”

Do you think Roma can start to sway things in their favor? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: THR