LOS ANGELES — Remember when Netflix was for movies and Hulu was for TV shows?

If you blinked sometime in the past year or so, you might have missed a significant shift in the streaming wars strategy: Hulu has been deepening its movies catalog while Netflix's overall film library continues to shrink.

As of late March, Hulu has 3,800 films ready for streaming, following year-over-year growth of about three to four times in terms of hours of films streamed, Mashable has learned — much of that from a deal with Epix that Netflix let expire last year.

Meanwhile, a recent report from Allflicks.com found Netflix’s U.S. catalog of movies has dropped by about a third in just over two years, to something like 4,300 movies.

Though Netflix still has more films overall, at this rate that won't last: Netflix is only adding roughly 10 new films per month of late. It brought on nine titles in April, a month in which it was expected to lose nearly 100.

In recent months, Hulu has recently been cycling on between 50 to 100 movies monthly, while Amazon has also been aggressively adding titles, at roughly half that rate.

And Netflix is OK with that.

"To put it simply, an exact number reflecting the breadth of the catalog does not exist," a Netflix spokesman told Mashable. "The licensing and renewal process occurs on an on-going basis, meaning titles are constantly being added and rotated off the service. Our focus is to continuously deliver great experiences for our members and we look to continue doing so by providing great movies and TV series that can only be found on Netflix."



It's true that the complex patchwork of streaming-rights deals make it impossible to pin down exact numbers. But this much is clear: As Netflix leaves its streaming-movies-library legacy behind, Hulu and Amazon are picking up the slack.

# of new movies coming to streaming in April:



Hulu: 100

Amazon: 54

Netflix: 9 — Josh Lincoln Dickey (@JLDlite) March 24, 2016

Netflix has made no secret of its ambitious plans to focus on originals, and has both the means and momentum to stay in the lead. The company plans to spend about $6 billion on content overall (including including original, licensed, etc.) in 2016 — which it expects to translate into something like 600 hours of programming.

But Amazon and Hulu have picked up the pace in originals, too. Once considered an underdog in the space, Hulu has launched a slate of successful comedies including The Mindy Project, Difficult People and the Golden Globe-nominated sitcom Casual.

Under Beatrice Springborn, head of original content, the company has also branched out into dramas, successfully releasing 11.22.63 (produced by J.J. Abrams and starring James Franco) and The Path (starring Aaron Paul, Hugh Dancy and Michelle Monaghan).

Still, unlike Netflix, which is rolling back its licensed movie offerings in the pivot to originals, Hulu is also aiming to make more titles available.

"We have heard pretty consistently from our subscribers that movies is a type of content that they really love and that they wish we had more of," Lisa Holme, Hulu's vice president of content acquisitions, told Mashable. "And we’ve been looking for opportunities to help satisfy that consumer need and demand."

@yungtrapistan What kind of shows/movies do you like to stream? We'd love to offer a few of our recommendations. — Hulu Support (@hulu_support) April 13, 2016

The first major push to acquire more films came last year, when the company broadened its pact with Viacom and struck a deal with movie and original programming entertainment service Epix, bringing releases from Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount to the platform.

Though it is not an exclusive deal (Amazon has some movies from the Epix catalog, too), Holme still called it a "needle mover" for Hulu. It was especially significant because Epix had previously been in a five-year contract with Netflix, a pact that both companies opted not to renew.

"We have a great history with Netflix, it was a good deal for them and for us," Mark Greenberg, Epix CEO, told Mashable. "During that period, our movies were streamed an enormous number of times. But our friends at Netflix have been very involved with originals, and that’s a different business model and direction for them."

Greenberg said Epix moved 2,000 movies off Netflix to Hulu under the deal, including popular franchise films like The Hunger Games.

"They have performed really well on Hulu," he added.

Though he wouldn't disclose specific numbers, he did say that data suggests the individual viewer is actually consuming more of their movies on Hulu than they were on Netflix.

Hulu starting to have the movies on deck — Jay Gatsby (@Archie_DaStoner) April 9, 2016

Earlier this year, Hulu also struck a multi-year licensing deal with Sony, which gave subscribers access to classic titles such as Jerry Maguire, Midnight in Paris and My Best Friend's Wedding to the library. And beginning this fall, Hulu will be the exclusive streaming service home to the majority of documentaries released from IFC Films, which will also include documentary films released under the Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight labels.

"We are excited to be working with Hulu for documentaries because they also play a role in the marketing of our films when they are first released theatrically," Lisa Schwartz, co-president of IFC Films/Sundance Selects, told Mashable in an email interview.

"Hulu debuts the trailer first, which helps to build awareness and word of mouth for the film."

Both Greenberg and Schwartz said they like that Hulu also promotes the titles on its homepage.

Netflix by the numbers

Netflix still has more subscribers — 81.5 million worldwide — and overall titles. Back when Epix films left the library, the company took to its blog to explain why.

"We know some of you will be disappointed by the expiration of the Epix movies," the post read. "Our goal is to provide great movies and TV series for all tastes, that are only available on Netflix. We're confident you'll enjoy our ever-improving catalogue."

The statement aligns with previous statements by Ted Sarandos, Netflix's head of content. At an investor conference last year, he hinted that Netflix's interest in non-exclusive content output deals is decreasing as appetite for originals has grown.

At its Television Critics Association presentation in January, the company had a full day of presentations lined up — ranging from returning hits like Orange is the New Black to overnight successes like Making a Murderer.

On the movie front, it has already released several originals (including the critically acclaimed Beasts of No Nation) and struck deals for more content from Adam Sandler and a handful of other Hollywood A-listers.

What about Amazon Studios?

While Hulu has been scaling up its movie offerings in volume, Amazon has established itself as the most formidable moviemaker of the big three streamers.

Last year, Amazon Jeff Bezos set a big goal for the video unit: "We want to win an Oscar," he told a German newspaper in December. "Amazon has already won Golden Globes and Emmys. Our current target is to produce 16 home movies a year."



Roy Price, Chloe Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale and director Whit Stillman at the Sundance premiere of "Love & Friendship." Image: GETTY IMAGES

As Mashable first reported last month, Amazon will honor the 90-day exclusive theatrical window before offering many of its top films on Prime — a major reason why it became an overnight force at the Sundance Film Festival, where producers and directors are still protective of showing their films in cinemas first.

Amazon and Netflix each left Sundance with six titles apiece, making them the most active buyers in Park City. Not to be completely outdone, Hulu, recently picked up its first festival flick with the comedy Joshy.

Three streamers, three different strategies — and still no clear sense of who, if anyone, will come to dominate in the movies space.

But one thing's for sure: On movie night, it's not just about Netflix and chill anymore.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated that Netflix planned to spend $6 billion on original programming. That has been corrected to incorporate content overall, including original, licensed, etc.

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