Netflix is now streaming Jennifer Lawrence‘s R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings,” after the film scored at the box office this summer.
In “No Hard Feelings,” Lawrence plays an Uber driver in the Hamptons whose car has been repossessed because she failed to pay her property taxes. She ends up answering a Craigslist ad posted by a wealthy couple (Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick), who are offering a car in return for a woman to date their socially awkward 19-year-old son (Andrew Barth Feldman) to prep him for college life.
The Sony Pictures Entertainment movie notched a respectable $15 million at the box office in its opening weekend, ending its theatrical run with a $50.5 million domestic take and a total worldwide gross of $87.1 million.
In the film, Lawrence’s character, Maddie, appears fully naked on a beach — and the actor was fully game to do the comedic nude scene. “Everyone in my life and my team is doing the right thing and going, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure?’” Lawrence told Variety this summer. “I didn’t even have a second thought. It was hilarious to me.”
“No Hard Feelings” was directed by Gene Stupnitsky from a script he wrote with John Phillips.
Netflix’s launch of titles like “No Hard Feelings” reflects the ongoing importance of licensed content to the industry-leading streamer, even as it has bulked up its slate of original movies and TV shows.
“Licensing has always been an important part of our programming strategy,” the company said in its Q3 letter to shareholders. “As the competitive environment evolves, we may have increased opportunities to license more hit titles to complement our original programming. We believe this will deliver additional value for our members (i.e., engagement), as well as for rights holders who benefit from the increased awareness and revenue that Netflix delivers, in addition to the new life that success on Netflix can drive (e.g, ‘Friends,’ ‘The Office,’ a new series from the ‘Suits’ universe).”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the Q3 interview that he expects more licensed content to “pop right into the center of the culture” as titles including HBO’s “Six Feet Under” and “True Blood” come to the service.