Netflix is facing a $105 million lawsuit after losing an unencrypted copy of Fortitude, a World War II film starring Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley.

Producer Simon Afram filed the suit on Wednesday. The Swiss businessman claims Netflix failed to protect the film after his team delivered it for a potential acquisition review.

Afram said he spent seven years and about $45 million developing the project.

How the Film Went Missing

According to the lawsuit, an associate producer delivered a digital cinema package (DCP) of Fortitude to Netflix in June. The company was considering whether to acquire the film’s rights.

After the screening, the associate producer tried to retrieve the copy. The lawsuit claims Netflix stopped responding to requests for more than a week.

Netflix later informed the filmmakers that the copy had been stolen.

In an email cited in the complaint, Sean Berney, Netflix’s director of original film, wrote: “This is a first for us. Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with our security teams to no luck.”

Dispute Over Security Measures

Afram argues that Netflix failed to store the film securely. The lawsuit claims the company left the drive on an office desk, making it vulnerable to theft.

The producer also argues that the loss threatens the film’s exclusivity and could reduce its market value. So far, there is no indication that the film has leaked online.

Netflix rejects the allegations.

“Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards,” the company said.

The streaming giant maintains that filmmakers usually submit unreleased films through password-protected links or encrypted DCPs. Afram’s lawsuit states that his team followed Netflix’s instructions and informed the company that the DCP was unencrypted. The filmmakers also requested that Netflix delete the file after the screening.

Netflix Responds

Netflix said it has taken steps to help the filmmakers.

“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,” the company said. “This includes conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorised distribution or sale.”

The lawsuit also accuses Netflix of refusing to share details of its investigation.

Netflix defended its position, saying: “We have declined to share anything about our ongoing investigation with the law firm representing Simon Afram, given their hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation – including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith.”