To Blockbuster and other competitors, Netflix must seem like the guy in a game of Monopoly who collects Boardwalk and Park Place early on, then proceeds to run everyone else out of business with a grin. The rental giant reached a deal with Nu Image/Millennium Group (distributors of The Expendables and Brooklyn’s Finest) to stream its films shortly after they reach home video.

Announced in a press release, the deal will let Netflix subscribers watch the movies at the same time they’d be available on pay-per-view.

The latest Netflix grab seems like a strike back at soon-to-be bankrupt Blockbuster, which has hammered out deals that let it stream movies from Fox and Sony starting the day they’re released on video.

Netflix and Nu Image/Millennium Films Announce Long-term Agreement to Stream First-Run Theatrical Films to Netflix Members [via High-Def Digest]

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