‘Glass Onion’ Set Nielsen Streaming Record on Netflix; Is That a Bad Sign for the Future of Theatrical Releases?
Streaming services are well on track to becoming the premier destination for movie watching. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have done irreparable damage to movie theaters, with most consumers now preferring to stream new movies at home instead of making the trek to their local theater.
And within this new landscape of movie streaming, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” has emerged as a great success story. According to Nielsen’s latest data, “Glass Onion,” which was released by Netflix, set a new record for the service. Among all movies available on streaming, the comedic murder mystery accrued more total viewing minutes than any other streaming content of its kind with 2.9 billion minutes watched. These absurd numbers are yet another sign that the movie industry could be taking steps away from its traditional distribution models.
“Glass Onion” had a limited theatrical release, where it made an impressive $13 million after playing across just under 700 theaters for one week. Many analysts believe that had Netflix decided to keep the film in theaters for a traditional run, it would have generated hundreds of millions at the box office. But, the world’s largest streamer was steadfast in insisting that it was in the business of showing Netflix movies on the Netflix platform and that any theatrical runs of films would be short and extremely limited, and it looks like Nielsen’s findings back up that decisions.
While recent executive changes at the service might lead some to think that Netflix could soon change its theatrical windowing philosophy, it seems that in this very high-profile case, the strategy worked exactly as intended. The company paid $250 million for the ability to make and distribute two sequels to Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” and it used the press and word of mouth from “Glass Onion’s” limited release to funnel viewers to its service to watch it.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.
With Netflix now over 230 million customers globally, and having essentially remained flat for an entire year in terms of domestic subscribers, it’s unlikely that “Glass Onion” brought a substantial number of new customers to the platform, however, in a saturated market, that was likely never the goal. Instead, the streamer is hoping that major titles like this will keep current customers engaged with the platform to minimize the likelihood of them canceling.
While movie theaters have seen a slight tick up in attendance from pandemic lows, thanks to major releases like “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Puss in Boots: Last Wish,” and a handful of others, cinemas should still be concerned. As art — and the world in general — shift more and more to digitalization, it will just become easier, and potentially even more profitable, for production companies to forego traditional theatrical releases. With the exception of the short, promotional runs like the one Netflix gave “Glass Onion,” as streamers get increasingly involved in purchasing films, we may see fewer and fewer of them ever actually hit the big screen.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.