Los Gatos-based Netflix may have some more Beyoncé movies coming out, as we now learn that the Homecoming documentary of her 2018 Coachella performance was just the beginning of a three-project deal.
Variety reported Monday that Netflix inked a Chappelle-sized deal with Queen Bey, and Homecoming is the first of three upcoming specials. She is reportedly being paid $20 million for each of the specials, for a total payday of $60 million.
Netflix declined to comment on the report, and disputed the financial terms of the deal in speaking to Variety. But as Vulture reports, HBO was ready to sign a deal with Beyoncé after previously airing her Lemonade film and a concert film of her On the Run tour in 2014, and Netflix stepped in with a higher bid.
Netflix has been making a habit of releasing high-profile concert films and music documentaries after last year's Springsteen on Broadway, and Lady Gaga’s Gaga: Five Foot Two.
Dave Chappelle was reportedly paid $60 million for his trio of comedy specials in 2017, and Springsteen was paid $20 million for the rights to his hit Broadway memoir. Chris Rock was also reportedly paid a whopping $40 million for his Netflix special.
In related news, Netflix has recently said it will begin sharing more viewership data with content producers, and presumably the public. Previously the company had held fast to the idea that sharing ratings was detrimental and put undue pressure on productions.
Chappelle's first comeback special, Dave Chappelle: Collection 1, is Netflix's most-watched comedy special ever — or at least it was in April 2017 when the company reported that fact to its shareholders.
Photo: Ronald Woan