A theft at Netflix’s Los Angeles office of an unreleased film has sparked a lawsuit from makers of the movie, titled Fortitude.
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in California federal court, writer-producer Simon Afram and his company, Op-Fortitude, accuse Netflix of compromising the sale of the World War II spy thriller by losing a copy of the movie that was shared for screening. He seeks at least $105 million.
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An unencrypted master copy of the movie was in one of several drives that were stolen from Netflix’s office last month. In an investigation, the company concluded that the other drives were empty, according a source at Netflix.
“Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “While we do not own the rights to Fortitude, we take content security seriously and have taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team. This includes conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution or sale.”
Director Simon West helmed ‘Fortitude,’ an unreleased World War II ensemble feature starring Nicolas Cage. A copy of the feature was stolen from Netflix’s Los Angeles office.
Netflix executives first expressed interest in purchasing Fortitude after receiving promotional materials in December 2025, requesting a working cut in June. According to the lawsuit, Netflix instructed the filmmakers to provide the key to what’s called a digital cinema package — a vehicle through which films are delivered for screening that limits unauthorized access — so the company could internally test the movie.
On June 15, a producer for Fortitude hand-delivered the drive to Netflix’s office at Sunset Bronson Studios. The producer allegedly told Netflix that the DCP was unencrypted and instructed the company to delete the files after the screening before notifying him when the drive was ready to be picked up.
Ten days later, a Netflix executive disclosed that it was stolen, according to the complaint.
“This is a first for us,” wrote Sean Berney, Netflix’s head of film acquisitions, in an email on June 25. “Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with out security teams to no luck. Our piracy teams are on high alert with the breach and will monitor.”
The lawsuit faults Netflix for allegedly refusing to disclose whether it filed a police report or enlist law enforcement to investigate the theft. According to the complaint, Netflix later declined a request by the filmmakers to involve the Los Angeles Police Department after they filed their own report.
Netflix said that it declined to share details about its ongoing investigation after a law firm representing Afram demanded $165 million for the movie in a “hostile attempt to extort money” rather than “work with us in good faith.”
The producers argue the theft has made the film significantly harder to sell because any prospective distributor would have to be told that an unencrypted copy was stolen before its release. That disclosure, they claim, could affect acquisition negotiations, insurance coverage and marketing plans, while creating the risk that the film could leak online before a commercial release. They say they paused sales efforts despite receiving interest from multiple domestic and international distributors, jeopardizing the film’s planned release strategy and awards campaign.
Fortitude, directed by Simon West, follows the true story of British Intelligence operatives using novel strategic operations to fool Nazi leadership. It features an ensemble cast that incudes Nicolas Cage, Matthew Goode, Ed Skrein, Jordi Mollà and Alice Eve.
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