A World War II spy thriller titled ‘Fortitude’ has become the subject of a $105 million lawsuit after an unencrypted master copy of the film was stolen from a Los Angeles office last month. Netflix faces legal action from the movie’s producers, who claim the theft has jeopardized the film’s commercial prospects and release strategy.According to The Hollywood Reporter, a complaint has been filed on Thursday in California federal court alleging that writer-producer Simon Afram and his company are seeking damages after a hard drive containing the unreleased film ‘Fortitude’ was stolen from Netflix’s office at Sunset Bronson Studios. The producers argue that the loss has significantly compromised their ability to sell the project to prospective distributors.
Unencrypted ‘Fortitude’ drive hand-delivered by producer, stolen within 10 days
On June 15, a producer for ‘Fortitude’ hand-delivered the drive to the office after executives expressed interest in the World War II thriller following promotional materials sent in December 2025. The producer had instructed the company to delete the files after screening and to notify him when the drive was ready for pickup.
Producers claim the theft of an unencrypted copy has complicated distribution talks and increased the risk of piracy ahead of the film’s release.Image credit (Instagram)
The drive contained an unencrypted digital cinema package, a vehicle through which films are delivered for screening. An investigation concluded that other stolen drives were empty, though the copy of ‘Fortitude’ had not been recovered. Ten days after delivery, an executive disclosed that the drive had been stolen from office desks.“This is a first for us,” wrote Sean Berney, head of film acquisitions, in an email on June 25. “Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with our security teams to no luck. Our piracy teams are on high alert with the breach and will monitor.”
‘Fortitude’ theft jeopardizes distribution deals and awards campaign
The producers argue that the theft has made ‘Fortitude’ significantly harder to sell because any prospective distributor would need to be informed that an unencrypted copy was stolen before commercial release. That disclosure, they contend, could affect acquisition negotiations, insurance coverage and marketing plans while creating the risk that the film could leak online before launch.According to the complaint, the filmmakers paused sales efforts on ‘Fortitude’ despite receiving interest from multiple domestic and international distributors, jeopardizing the planned release strategy and awards campaign. They also claim the company refused to disclose whether it filed a police report or enlisted law enforcement to investigate the theft, and later declined a request to involve the Los Angeles Police Department after the filmmakers filed their own report.
‘Fortitude’ directed by Simon West features Nicolas Cage and ensemble cast
‘Fortitude’, directed by Simon West, follows the true story of British Intelligence operatives using novel strategic operations to deceive Nazi leadership during World War II. The ensemble cast includes Nicolas Cage, Matthew Goode, Ed Skrein, Jordi Mollà and Alice Eve.The streaming service’s security protocols have come under scrutiny following the theft of ‘Fortitude’. Netflix disputed responsibility for the loss, stating the film was delivered “without proper industry-standard safeguards.” The company added that it does not own the rights to ‘Fortitude’ and has taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team, including conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution or sale of the film.The lawsuit highlights the weaknesses in film delivery chains and the business consequences of security lapses, with “Fortitude” serving as a warning shot for how streaming services might deal with sensitive, unreleased content in their possession.
