Netflix has secured the feature film rights to Sesame Street, ending what became a roughly year-long bidding contest among several major studios and streamers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rideback, the production company run by Jonathan Eirich and Michael Lofaso, will produce the film. Rideback is behind the billion-dollar live-action adaptations of Lilo & Stitch and Aladdin. The company had already been working with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the show, on a separate animation project, which gave it an early advantage in the race. Sesame Workshop will also be involved in a producer capacity on the new film. Netflix declined to comment.
The deal gives Netflix full control of the Sesame Street brand across both television and film. The streamer had already acquired the TV rights in May 2025.
The path to the deal was not straightforward. Sesame Workshop signed with talent agency CAA in the fall, and early on the competition involved three parties: Netflix, Universal, and Warner Bros. Warner Bros. had held the feature rights for roughly a decade but had never managed to produce a Sesame Street film. The studio dropped out early, reportedly amid its own acquisition drama involving first Netflix and then Paramount.
Universal emerged as a serious challenger. The studio had attached The Daniels, the filmmaking duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert who directed Everything Everywhere All at Once, as producers. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were also attached to produce for Universal. Neither team was attached to direct, according to sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter.
In the end, Netflix prevailed. A key factor was that Sesame Workshop approved of Rideback's approach to the material. No filmmaker is currently attached to direct the project.
Sesame Street has been a fixture of American children's television for decades, known for characters including Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and Elmo. The show has produced two previous theatrical films. The first, Follow That Bird, came out in 1985 and featured comedians John Candy, Chevy Chase, and Dave Thomas alongside the puppet cast. It was distributed by Warner Bros. The second, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, followed in 1999.
The Insneider newsletter first reported the news of Netflix's acquisition.
