Netflix’s first original feature film, “Beasts of No Nation,” about a child soldier in West Africa, makes its debut today.

Written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film is based on Uzodinma Iweala’s harrowing, linguistically dazzling novel of a child soldier’s life.

Netflix continues to place a priority on its original programming, though programming from other outlets remains an important part of the Netflix service both in the United States and internationally.

Netflix’s third-quarter profits tumbled 50 per cent, to $29.4 million, compared with last year, missing its forecasts as it reported worse-than-expected streaming growth in the United States.

The company said it added 3.62 million total streaming members during the quarter, as it continued its aggressive global expansion and investment in original programming. That brings the total number of paid streaming members to 66.02 million, up from the 50.65 million during the same period in 2014.

Netflix had expected 66.61 million total paid members for the quarter. In the United States, Netflix missed its forecasts for subscriber growth.

Bloomberg