Netflix's Knives Out Sequel Glass Onion Is Doing Surprisingly Well In Theaters
The highly-anticipated follow-up to Knives Out, Glass Onion, is now playing in theatres, but it will only be available on the big screen for a week. The film is being shown in 600 theaters across the country until November 29th before it hits Netflix on December 23rd. Mega fans of the first film have been rushing out to see the movie in theaters while they still have the chance. In fact, Glass Onion is doing surprisingly well at the box office for a movie with such a limited run.
According to Variety, Glass Onion has already earned about $15 million since it was released on November 23rd. Based on "informed estimates" the Rian Johnson-directed whodunnit earned $13 million over the extended Thanksgiving holiday, which translates to about $19,000 per theater. That means the movie would have placed third at the domestic box this weekend after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Disney's latest animated feature, Strange World. The Marvel sequel earned $65 million from 4,258 theatres over five days while the animated original made $18.5 million from 4,174 theatres over five days. It's worth noting that Wakanda Forever and Strange World are playing in six times as many theaters as Glass Onion. According to Variety, Netflix declined to comment on the movie's box office numbers.
Why Is Glass Onion Only in Theaters for a Week?
When asked why Netflix chose to go with the one-week theatrical release for Glass Onion, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos had the following explanation:
"First I'll tell you: we're in the business of entertaining our members, with Netflix movies on Netflix. So that's where we focus all of our energy and most of our spends," Sarandos said during a recent investors call.
"Our films are always heavily featured in film festivals around the world," he continued. "Because they're in demand, made by the greatest filmmakers on the planet. For all those folks who can't get to a city where a festival is, this one-week release on 600 screens is a way of creating access to the film and building buzz – the same thing we're doing at festivals. So I would look at this as another way to build anticipation for the film and build buzz and reputation for the film, ahead of its Netflix release."
Who Stars in Glass Onion?
In addition to Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, Glass Onion stars Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Madelyne Cline, and Jessica Henwick.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is playing in theatres until November 29th, and hits Netflix on December 23rd.