Looks like they not recoup budget
Of course they do. Not through theatrical. But that’s not the business model. The theatrical releases are just to get awards, which are free advertising for the service. That’s what it’s all about. If you want to get $100 million theatrically you need to get at least 20 million butts in seats. To make $100 million from monthly subscribers, you need a small fraction of that who sticks around a couple months. They don’t put their movies out on DVD either. They are Netflix exclusives. That’s how they make the money back on EVERYTHING they produce. Including the Irishman. The theatrical release was just a commercial, a commercial they get PAID for. It’s beautiful really.