With Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery having already left theaters after a limited theatrical release, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently expressed his support for the streamer's big-screen strategy despite admitting the sequel film could've made more money at the box office.
As a result of Glass Onion's short stint in select North American theaters, Hastings conceded that Netflix left "lots" of money on the table by forgoing a wider theatrical release. Even so, the Netflix boss isn't ruling out the approach altogether. "It's a promotional tactic like film festivals, and if it works well we will do more of it," Hastings said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "We are not trying to build a theatrical business, we are trying to break through the noise."
Earlier this month, Glass Onion played for one week in approximately 600 theaters across North America. Afterward, theaters reportedly pleaded with Netflix for a longer run but were rejected, as the streamer believed a smaller release would spur more anticipation for the film's debut on the streaming service in December.
At the box office, Glass Onion was reported to have grossed $13 million over the extended Thanksgiving holiday period, with estimates expecting the film to earn a total of $15 million. The difference between limited and wide theatrical releases is clear when comparing Glass Onion's numbers to its 2019 predecessor, Knives Out, which earned $26 million across 3,461 theaters over the same time frame three years ago. Considering Knives Out brought in a total of $165 million domestically and $311 million worldwide, Glass Onion's earning potential appears big enough to have possibly competed with other recently released heavy-hitters like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Glass Onion Hits Netflix in December
When Glass Onion began its limited theatrical run back on Nov. 23, director Rian Johnson encouraged audiences to watch the film in theaters -- something he believes would be beneficial to not only the film itself but theatrical releases on the whole. "We want as many people as possible to see it in theaters," Johnson said. "And then we want it to do incredibly well when it hits Netflix -- so lots of people see it and so it demonstrates to everybody, most of all Netflix, that these two things can coexist … that a great run in the theater will only build the word-of-mouth and the prestige for when it hits the service. That’s something a lot of folks, not just at Netflix, are betting on."
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery begins streaming Dec. 23 exclusively on Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter