Netflix is facing a $105 million lawsuit after allegedly losing an unencrypted copy of an unreleased $45 million Nicolas Cage thriller, exposing the seven-year production to potential piracy and leaks.

The lawsuit was filed by Op-Fortitude Ltd. and its owner, Swiss film producer and financier Simon Afram. The plaintiffs accuse Netflix of both losing the film and attempting to cover up the security breach.

The film, titled Fortitude, is based on the real-life World War II Operation Fortitude — a large-scale Allied deception campaign aimed at convincing Nazi Germany that the D-Day invasion would take place at a different location. The historic operation involved a fictitious army, double agents, and fabricated radio communications.

According to the lawsuit, the incident has inflicted severe financial damage by undermining the film's first-to-market exclusivity and distribution value, compelling the plaintiffs to halt marketing and sales efforts during the critical period leading up to awards season. For independent productions, awards season positioning can significantly influence distribution deals, critical visibility, and long-term revenue, making secure handling of unreleased masters a high-stakes priority for financiers and producers.

The complaint cites test screenings that projected an 82% "top-two box" audience score, meaning 82% of viewers rated the film in one of the two highest categories. In the film industry, top-two box scores above 80% are generally considered strong indicators of commercial potential and audience appeal. Based on those results, the plaintiffs conservatively estimated the movie would generate at least $112.5 million in revenue — approximately 2.5 times its production budget.

The dispute centers on a private screening that Netflix reportedly requested between late 2025 and mid-2026. The plaintiffs allege Netflix asked for an unlocked, unencrypted copy to facilitate the screening. Netflix disputes this account, stating that security safeguards are standard industry practice and that the filmmakers chose voluntarily to deliver an unencrypted version. Under typical industry protocols, studios and streaming platforms receive screeners with digital rights management protections, watermarking, and encryption to prevent unauthorized copying or distribution.

The plaintiffs say they notified Netflix both verbally and in writing that the drive was unencrypted, and instructed the company to delete all files from its projection system following the screening.

An unencrypted digital master drive was delivered to Netflix's Hollywood studio on June 15, 2026, with the screening taking place the following day, June 16. According to the plaintiffs, the media company left the unencrypted file unattended on an office desk without basic physical or digital security controls, and the drive subsequently disappeared.

The lawsuit alleges that Netflix concealed the breach by repeatedly delaying or ignoring requests from the plaintiffs to arrange pickup of the drive between June 17 and June 25. The plaintiffs state that it was not until June 25 that a Netflix executive emailed them, writing that "someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week."

Netflix has denied those allegations, stating it notified the appropriate parties as soon as its team became aware of the incident.

The plaintiffs further accuse Netflix of attempting to downplay the incident by claiming the stolen drive required an encryption key to access the film, despite allegedly knowing the drive was unencrypted. The lawsuit also claims Netflix offered to reimburse only the cost of the physical drive and characterized the asset as "missing" rather than "stolen."

In a statement to FOX Business, Netflix said: "Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards. 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."

The plaintiffs also accuse Netflix and its outside counsel of refusing to answer basic questions about the company's internal investigation, including whether a police report had been filed. The plaintiffs allege Netflix declined to cooperate with the Los Angeles Police Department after the filmmakers filed their own report.

In response, Netflix said it withheld details of its investigation due to what it described as the plaintiffs' conduct, claiming they initially demanded $165 million for the film rather than engaging cooperatively.

"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," the company said.

Netflix added that its content security team is actively monitoring piracy websites for unauthorized copies of the film and stated it has found no evidence that Fortitude has been leaked. Pre-release piracy has historically posed significant financial risks to film productions, with high-profile leaks in past years leading studios across the industry to adopt stricter chain-of-custody procedures for unreleased content.