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A $150 million movie canceled by Netflix for being too expensive eyed by a studio desperate to save billions

That's one way to keep people happy after scrapping so many favorites.

WESTWOOD, CA - AUGUST 04: Actresses Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson arrive on the red carpet at the Los Angeles Premiere of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" at the Mann Village Theatre on August 4, 2008 in Westwood, California.
Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage

Despite developing a reputation for its prolific cancellation of fantasy shows that don’t meet the algorithm’s requirements, Netflix somehow always seems to find the money to fund a star-studded blockbuster or two that almost always ends up being greeted with a shrug of indifference by critics, even if big names are always guaranteed to perform in terms of viewing figures.

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However, the streaming service draws the line at $150 million romantic comedies, having recently pulled the plug on genre legend Nancy Meyers’ in-development offering. The company was more than happy to shell out $130 million for the privilege of having Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Owen Wilson, and Michael Fassbender headline the cast, but that extra $20 million turned out to be the unnecessarily expensive straw that broke the camel’s back.

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via Sony

It was reported that the project – tentatively titled Paris Paramount – was being shopped around Hollywood in an effort to find another interested party, and it looks as though the most unlikely of candidates has come forward. David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. – which we needn’t remind you has been on a cost-cutting spree of its own – is interested in acquiring the A-list romp for what would presumably be a wide theatrical release.

Of course, you’ve got to question the business sense in an outfit that stated its desire to shave billions of the budget stumping up $150 million for a film that was deemed as too risky of a proposition for one of its direct competitors, never mind how DC fans would feel were the man who brutally axed Batgirl as a $90 million tax write-off to green light an outlay of almost twice as much for a frothy caper that doesn’t need to be anywhere near as expensive as it currently is.