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Monday, October 2, 2023 | 
Entertainment Television

‘Cuties’ may have led to 5 times the number of Netflix cancellations in 5 days

A new report suggests Netflix has seen a massive cancellation over the French film

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE ‘Cuties’ may have led to 5 times the number of Netflix cancellations in 5 days
This image released by Netflix shows the cast of the coming-of-age film “Cuties.” The backlash to the French independent film “Mignonnes,” or “Cuties,” started before it had even been released because of a poster that went viral for its provocative depiction of its young female actors.

This image released by Netflix shows the cast of the coming-of-age film “Cuties.” The backlash to the French independent film “Mignonnes,” or “Cuties,” started before it had even been released because of a poster that went viral for its provocative depiction of its young female actors.

Netflix via Associated Press

More data continues to show that people are cancelling their Netflix subscriptions in the wake of the film “Cuties.”

What’s going on?

A new data report from Antenna said it saw five times the amount of cancellations for Netflix in the last five days compared to the previous 30 days, Axios reports.

The company said it “can confirm that Netflix experienced a meaningful spike in churn rate due to the ‘Cuties’ backlash.”

Response and backlash:

Netflix began to face controversy over the French film “Cuties,” which reportedly features sexualized portrayals of children. The film focuses on an 11-year-old girl who rebels against her conservative Muslim family to join a dance crew. Conservatives have suggested some scenes are more or less child pornography, according to the Deseret News. An online petition has asked for people to unsubscribe from Netflix in response.

YipitData, a global research firm, recently told Fox Business that Netflix’s recent churn numbers — which is also the number of people who have canceled or dropped the service — has increased significantly in recent weeks.

Related

An apology:

The film’s poster seem to be sexually suggestive. Netflix apologized over the issue last week in a statement to Deadline.

  • “We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for ‘Cuties.’ It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which premiered at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description,” the company’s statement said.

Parents Television Council President Tim Winter slammed Netflix’s response, though. He said in a statement to the Deseret News:

  • “Earth to Netflix: You’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. A big part. Not only does ‘Cuties’ perpetuate the very type of child sexual exploitation that you purport to be condemning; you have produced, distributed and profited from a cancerous mass of other sexually exploitative material. ‘Cuties’ is but the latest offering, and your callous response makes clear to millions of Americans across the political spectrum that you have no commonsense decency whatsoever.”