Management upheaval at Netflix continued Monday as the streamer’s head of films Dan Lin exited.

Lin was appointed to the position in February 2024 and was tasked with making fewer, better and bigger movies.

But his efforts produced mixed results. During his tenure, Netflix rolled out high-profile releases including “The Rip” starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and the Oscar-winning animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters,” as well as costly misfires such as “The Electric State.”

The latest high-profile shake-up at Netflix comes during a delicate time for the streamer, which has several highly anticipated theatrical releases in the coming months, including the David Fincher-directed “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” starring Brad Pitt, and “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” directed by Greta Gerwig.

Last week, Netflix announced it was cutting 6% of its workforce and replacing Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria with Peter Rice, a former chairman of Walt Disney Television.

After Bajaria was pushed out, many people in the industry expected Lin would be next, according to sources who declined to be named because they were not authorized to comment. He was told about his departure late last week, the sources said.

Rice will oversee the film team until a new film head is announced.

Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, said he was grateful for what Lin has done for Netflix films.

“I started working with Dan well before he joined us in 2024 and his strength as a producer was always clear,” Sarandos said in a statement. “Once he joined Netflix, I saw up close how his dedication to quality filmmaking, rigor around dealmaking and strategy, and collaborative spirit elevated our film business.”

On Monday, Lin in a statement thanked Sarandos, Bajaria and co-Chief Executive Greg Peters for the opportunity.

“It’s been a great privilege to lead this incredible team and work with amazing filmmakers and talent to bring their movies to the world,” Lin said.

Analysts and investors have raised concerns about Netflix’s growth. In the first half of 2026, hours watched on Netflix increased only 2% compared with a year earlier, according to the streamer. Investors had hoped for more robust growth, given that the streamer increased its content budget 11% to $20 billion.

Though Netflix is profitable, analysts say the company hasn’t produced enough hits and are skeptical of its plans to grow its subscriber base.

Netflix stock has dropped about 40% compared with a year ago and closed Monday at $69.85 a share, down 1%.

Lin’s appointment was controversial in Hollywood after the departure of film chief Scott Stuber, who ramped up its movie production and released big-budget films including 2022‘s “The Gray Man,” starring Ryan Gosling.

Lin had a difficult and complex remit at Netflix, particularly with the mandate of cutting spending and reducing the slate to focus on better-quality films, which irked some people in the entertainment industry, sources said. Netflix’s strategy of mainly releasing movies on its platform instead of doing large theatrical windows also was a turnoff for some talent who wanted to see their work on the big screen, some sources said.

Under Lin’s tenure, Netflix was in Oscar contention each year, including with “Emilia Perez” in 2025 and “Train Dreams” in 2026. The Spanish-language film “La Bola Negra” also is expected to generate Academy Awards buzz.

Still, Netflix’s recent movies have underperformed, analysts have said.

Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics, said Netflix’s five most-watched English-language scripted summer movie releases in their first eight weeks posted the lowest average hours watched compared with the streamer’s top five summer releases in 2025, 2024 and 2023, citing Nielsen data.

“Netflix decreasing the volume of originals that it produces over the last couple years, particularly in the original English-language film arena under Dan Lin, while that’s a better ROI move, it’s naturally going to lead to less lottery tickets that you have to potentially hit the jackpot,” Katz said.

Analysts and investors are eagerly anticipating Netflix’s third-quarter earnings results Tuesday, as executives are expected to address how they plan to move the company forward.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Netflix third-quarter revenue will be about $12.87 billion, up 12% compared with a year ago, close to what Netflix forecasted. Analysts estimated earnings per share in the quarter will be $0.82, up 39% from the same period a year ago.

“It’s unusual to see Netflix on its heels, but that’s what’s happening as the pace of its growth is slowing, putting the company in cost management mode,” said Mike Proulx, a vice president and research director at the global research and advisory firm Forrester, in a statement. “The streaming market that Netflix once defined is redefining itself without Netflix at the center of gravity, at least for now.”