A group dressed as characters from the Netflix show "Squid Game" pose for a 'selfie' on Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts on October 31, 2021.
Joseph Prezioso—AFP/Getty Images

Facing sluggish growth—it added 18 million subscribers last year, compared with 2020’s 37 million, amid the rise of rivals like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video—Netflix turned abroad for an answer. It found it in hits like South Korea’s Squid Game and France’s Lupin, which have resurrected the streamer’s fortunes and proved to a skeptical Hollywood that Americans will watch subtitled content. Foreign filmmakers as well as subscribers stand to be enriched.

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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com.

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