Glass Onion Lands Well on Netflix, But Not in Top 5 Film Debuts
The Rian Johnson film, which performed well in theaters in November, notched up 82.1 million hours in the first 3 days, good enough for a No. 6 spot behind The Unforgivable.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, directed by Rian Johnson film has become Netflix’s 6th biggest film debut.
Glass Onion was streamed 82.1 million hours in the first three days since bowing Dec. 23, the streaming service said Tuesday.
That puts it behind Sandra Bullock’s The Unforgivable (85.86. million hours) and The Gray Man, the pricey Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans feature that bowed to 88.55 million hours in July. Those films stand Netflix’s No. 5 and No. 4 debuts, respectively, since since the streamer began releasing such records in 2021.
Johnson pushed for Glass Onion to have a noteworthy theatrical component and it became the first Netflix title to receive a theatrical release from all 3 major chains (AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres and Regal Cinemas).
Netflix did not report grosses, but distribution sources said that it brought in around $13 million over the five-day holiday, a strong number for a feature bowing in under 700 theaters, though the film lost millions by not getting a traditional theatrical release. It departed theaters after one week.
The first Knives Out, released by Lionsgate theatrically in 2019, was a sleeper hit and grossed $41.4 million from 3,461 locations over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos downplayed the film’s theatrical component shortly after announcing plans.
“There are all kinds of debates all the time, back and forth. But there is no question internally that we make our movies for our members, and we really want them to see them on Netflix,” Sarandos said during an earnings call Oct. 18. “Most people watch movies at home.”
Johnson has spoken about wishing the film would have returned to theaters, a desire that did not materialize. He said: “Any theaters we can get it into at any point, I’m pushing for … I want more people to have the opportunity to be able to watch it.”
As part of a year-end wrap released Tuesday, Netflix unveiled its most-watched films, based on 28-day viewing frames were The Gray Man, The Adam Project, Purple Hearts, Hustle and The Tinder Swindler — among English language titles.
The Non English top five movies were:
Troll, All Quiet on the Western Front, Black Crab, Through My Window and The Takedown.
