According to newly released viewing data from Netflix, The Mitchells vs. The Machines is now the most-watched Netflix original animated movie.
Deadline reports that in the film's first 28 days on Netflix, The Mitchells vs. The Machines was viewed in a reported 53 million member households worldwide. To compare that number to previous Netflix original animated movies' statistics from their first 28 days, Over the Moon was watched in 43 million households, The Willoughbys in 38 million households and Klaus in nearly 30 million households.
It's worth noting that Netflix's reported viewing statistics are not a reliable metric for how many people watched all or even most of a film. Since 2019, Netflix's reported viewership numbers are based on the number of accounts that watched a minimum of two minutes of a given film or TV show. This most likely means that the number of households who watched The Mitchells vs. The Machines in full is almost certainly lower than the 53 million figure
The Mitchells vs. The Machines, produced by Sony Pictures Animation and directed by Gravity Falls' Michael Rianda, was originally set to be released by Sony Pictures in theaters under the title of Connected. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the film to move its release date from September 19 to October 23 to disappearing from Sony's release schedule entirely. It was eventually sold to Netflix, which released the movie on April 30 under its original working title of The Mitchells vs. The Machines. It went on to be one of the best-reviewed movies of 2021 thus far with a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sony Pictures Animation has released more films Netflix since The Mitchells vs. The Machines, including the Chinese co-production Wish Dragon. Up next for Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation is Vivo, a musical starring and featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Starting in 2022, Netflix will have the exclusive first-window streaming rights to all new Sony Pictures theatrical releases, with Disney gaining the rights after Netflix's window ends.
Now streaming on Netflix, The Mitchells vs. The Machines stars Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Mike Rianda, Eric André and Olivia Colman.
Source: Deadline