‘Knives Out’ sequel pulls in US$13.3 mln in cinema test
“GLASS Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” the first movie from Netflix to appear in the largest theater chains before it’s available on streaming, brought in $13.3 million over five days in a closely watched limited run.
The total is projected to reach $15 million in the US and Canada when the movie completes its sevenday run this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The movie played on almost 700 screens, for revenue of about $19,000 per screen, the best average for any film over the weekend, the person said. The film, a sequel to the 2019 hit “Knives Out,” played in theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Holdings, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark Holdings, the biggest US circuits.
The companies have resisted working with Netflix because the streaming provider prefers to debut its movies simultaneously or shortly after they appear in cinemas.
Once its theatrical run ends, “Glass Onion” won’t be available again until Dec. 23, when it appears on Netflix. AMC Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron tweeted Sunday that he was encouraged by the results, saying they would lead to “more of Netflix down the road.”
Boxoffice Pro had projected that “Glass Onion” would gross as much as $15 million over the five-day weekend that started Nov 23.
The result was good enough for third place in an otherwise slow weekend for theaters in North America. Walt Disney’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was No. 1 with a $64 million haul over five days, while the company’s animated “Strange World” brought in a disappointing $18.6 million, according to ComScore.
Netflix slipped 0.3 per cent in New York trading at 9.33 am. AMC, the largest theater chain, fell 1.7 per cent while Cinemark dropped 1.6 per cent.
Cineworld Group, owner of Regal, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U. in September.
Amazon.com’s plan to spend more than $1 billion a year on movies to be released in theaters could spur companies such as Netflix and Apple to follow suit, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan.
At the same time, it’s unclear whether the industry will ever return to prepandemic sales given the rise of streaming and a 40 per cent shorter theatrical window, she said.