Netflix cans $US130 million Nancy Meyers rom-com

A conflict over budget has led to the axing of a movie that was to star Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Owen Wilson.

Netflix has canned its troubled Nancy Meyers blockbuster rom-com.

Tensions first emerged in recent weeks when it was reported that the streamer wouldn’t meet Meyers’ budget expectations of $US150 million. Netflix would only pony up $US130 for the production.

Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the project has been scrapped when the two sides couldn’t find a way through the conflict.

The film, which was going by the work-in-progress or codename title Paris Paramount, was to have been one of if not the most expensive rom-com in history. And it had a rumoured starry cast including Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson.

Writer and director Nancy Meyers.

The plot was said to be about a filmmaker and producer who fell in love when they were young, worked on a bunch of movies together before splitting both personally and professionally. And then they found themselves forced back together on a movie.

The movie was first announced a year ago.

Meyers is considered as one of the most influential filmmakers in rom-coms, having either penned the screenplay or also directed the likes of Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap, It’s Complicated and Something’s Gotta Give.

Her most recent film was The Intern starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro.

Scarlett Johansson was rumoured to be starring in the film. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Her daughter, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, followed in her parents’ footsteps (Meyer’s former partner is filmmaker Charles Shyer), having helmed the Reese Witherspoon rom-com Home Again. Meyers was a producer on Home Again.

Hollywood studios and entertainment companies including Netflix have been more prudent with spending as they deal with the global economic downturn.

Netflix reported a subscriber growth of 7.7 million in the final quarter of 2022, which was a reversal of fortunes from earlier in the year, and a 2 per cent increase in revenue in the same period.

While it’s on better footing than only months earlier, the industry is readying itself for belt-tightening as cost-of-living challenges hit its customer base.

Netflix spent $US16.84 billion on content in 2022, down from $US17.70 billion in 2021. Chief financial officer Spender Neumann said the streamer expected to spend $US17 billion in 2023, reflecting a plateauing after earlier years of aggressive growth.

Elsewhere in the industry, Disney’s returned boss Bob Iger flagged the studio would spend $US3 billion less in non-sports content as the company looks to cut $US5.5 billion in costs.