The Electric State is the most expensive movie Netflix has ever produced, but it doesn’t seem like it was money well-spent. The streaming service’s newest film is directed by the Russo brothers and is based on the critically acclaimed 2018 illustrated novel of the same name. The story of The Electric State is set in an alternate United States in the mid-1990s after a civil war was fought between humans and robots. In the film, a young girl travels with a mysterious robot to find her missing brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his robot sidekick along the way.

The cast of The Electric State includes Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan, and Woody Harrelson. Despite its star-studded cast and interesting premise, reviews for The Electric State have been horrible. Ahead of its debut on Netflix, the film currently has a disappointing 21% on Rotten Tomatoes (via Rotten Tomatoes). Since The Electric State’s budget was a whopping $320 million, its terrible reviews have made me very concerned about the future of streaming.

Netflix’s The Electric State Is One Of The Most Expensive Movies In History

The Electric State Is The 13th Most Expensive Movie Ever

The Electric State’s mᴀssive budget has made it one of the most expensive movies in history. Specifically, it is the 13th most expensive movie ever made. This isn’t necessarily surprising, since the Russo brothers tend to make very expensive films. Two of their other movies, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, are also some of the most expensive movies ever made. Here are the top 15 films with the highest budgets:

The Electric State actually stands out on the above list, since all the other films are part of major franchises, such as Star Wars, the MCU, and Pirates of the Caribbean. It is not necessarily surprising that movies in these franchises are so expensive, since they have proven to be box office successes. However, unlike all the other films, The Electric State is being released on Netflix and is not getting a theatrical run.

Why The Electric State’s Budget Is So High

The Electric State Is A Sci-Fi Movie With A Star-Studded Cast

Even though The Electric State has no chance of making its money back from the box office, Netflix still agreed to give the Russo brothers $320 million to make the film. Even though the directing duo has made some of the most profitable movies in history, namely the aforementioned Avengers films and their other Marvel movies, they haven’t had a hit outside the MCU. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that Netflix agreed to such a high budget for The Electric State.

Recent movies from the Russo brothers, such as Cherry and The Gray Man, also haven’t received great reviews, so one would think that Netflix would take this into consideration. However, it seems possible that Netflix just wanted to fund a huge science fiction movie to increase their own stock value. Therefore, the streaming service was more than willing to provide ample money to cover production costs and pay the all-star cast, even though there was never a chance that they would make their money back at the box office.

The Electric State Is Another Reminder That High Budgets Don’t Always Result In Good Movies

The Electric State Is Not A Revolutionary Sci-Fi Movie

Without a doubt, Netflix hoped that The Electric State would be a mᴀssive sci-fi hit. While the film will undoubtedly still rank number one on the streaming service upon its release, it is unlikely that its ratings will go up that much. Therefore, The Electric State seems reminiscent of several other underwhelming Netflix movies, such as Red Notice and Heart of Stone. These films performed well on the streaming service, but received many negative reviews, which ultimately led to audiences forgetting about them not long after their debuts.

Based on early reviews, I would be surprised if The Electric State was the beginning of a new franchise for Netflix. Because of this, it can definitely be argued that the streaming service’s money was not well-spent. The Electric State is a reminder that high budgets don’t always result in good movies. Overall, it just doesn’t seem like The Electric State is a very inventive or fresh sci-fi film, which is disappointing considering its mᴀssive budget.

Why Streaming’s High Budget Trend Is So Concerning

Netflix Could Have Made A Lot Of Movies With $320 Million

As I pointed out above, I can somewhat understand when movies that are part of major franchises have very high budgets. After all, these franchises have tons of fans that have been supportive for years. Therefore, it makes sense that studios are willing to spend more to appease these fandoms. However, spending $320 million on just one science fiction movie is very concerning to me. Instead of spending this much money on just one movie, Netflix could have produced many more films.

The streaming service could have greenlit ten movies with $32 million budgets, or even 32 movies with $10 million budgets. In my opinion, this would have been much smarter than spending so much on just one underwhelming sci-fi movie. It is also worth noting that most of the movies that found success at the 2025 Academy Awards, such as Anora and The Brutalist, had budgets of $10 million or less. Undoubtedly, films like Anora and The Brutalist will stay in the public consciousness longer than The Electric State.

How Movies & Shows With High Budgets On Streaming Could Hurt Subscribers

Netflix Could Increase Subscription Prices Even More

Since The Electric State is not getting a theatrical release, the movie will make zero dollars at the box office. So, how is Netflix making any kind of return on investment? Since Netflix primarily makes money through subscription fees, it only makes sense that it funded a mᴀssive movie like The Electric State to justify its high subscription cost. Over the years, Netflix has continuously raised its monthly prices, so the streaming service needs to provide adequate content to justify these price increases.

Netflix releasing a blockbuster-esque movie like The Electric State and not charging subscribers extra for it could lead the service to further increase its prices. Therefore, streaming services consistently spending a lot of money on movies like The Electric State will undoubtedly lead to subscribers having to pay more. Personally, I would much rather get 32 $10 million movies from Netflix, rather than a film like The Electric State. This is precisely why The Electric State has me concerned about the future of streaming.