Anthony and Joe Russo’s latest Netflix feature, “The Electric State,” is one of the most discussed films of 2025 thus far, though not for reasons the filmmakers or the streamer would likely prefer. In the months leading up to its March 14 debut, the conversation centered mostly on the expense of the production. Reportedly made for a whopping $320 million, it’s currently the priciest film in Netflix history. Obviously, the Russos don’t come cheap, nor do stars Chris Pratt or Millie Bobby Brown (who, given her involvement in “Stranger Things” and the “Enola Holmes” franchise, has become the streamer’s in-house movie A-lister), but when people see a price tag like that, they expect world-class cinematic spectacle. They want something akin to the Russos’ “Avengers” movies.

Alas, they didn’t want “The Electric State.” Based on Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 graphic novel, the film — which centers on a young woman (Brown) and a sentient robot searching for the former’s presumed dead brother – earned scathing reviews across the board. It currently holds an atrocious 15% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes (/Film’s Witney Seibold despised it), which might have diminished viewer interest in the movie. In any event, it’s safe to say Netflix did not spend $320 million to churn out a film that, according to Deadline, generated just 25.2 million views over its opening weekend. For comparison, that’s well short of the debuts for “Enola Holmes 2” (32 million), “Back in Action” (46.8 million), and the much more sensibly budgeted (and far superior) “Rebel Ridge” (31.2 million).

So, what does this mean for the Russos and Netflix?

While neither party will come out of “The Electric State” smelling like roses, the severe underperformance of the film will almost certainly be a momentary blip of bad press for both the Russos and Netflix. The filmmaking duo will be moving on to the highly anticipated “Avengers: Doomsday” for Marvel Studios, while Netflix will simply dust itself off and, if anything, be reluctant to spend so much money on an unproven IP in the future.

That’s what stinks about “The Electric State” flopping. While there’s been no shortage of schadenfreude expressed over the boastful, pro-AI Russos taking it on the chin commercially and critically, the only people likely to suffer are filmmakers trying to make a non-franchise blockbuster in good faith and audiences who are tired of having properties shoved down their throats. Great filmmaking requires risk taking, and Netflix is going to stop taking those risks if a load of rotten publicity is all that gets it.

I would argue that the Russos have in no way earned the confidence expressed by Netflix on “The Electric State,” as every single one of their non-Marvel efforts has been lousy. Hopefully, this won’t harm a Netflix-friendly talent like Jeremy Saulnier, who’s made two big, bracingly original movies (“Hold the Dark” and “Rebel Ridge”) for the streamer. We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.