In 2019, Knives Out became one of the breakout box office hits of the holiday season, grossing an impressive $312.9 million globally against a $40 million production budget. Thanks to elements like Rian Johnson’s sharp screenplay and terrific performances from its star-studded cast, Knives Out was also a critical darling and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Unsurprisingly, Lionsgate quickly moved forward with a sequel, but then the film industry changed drastically in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of continuing his partnership with Lionsgate, Johnson struck a new deal with Netflix for two Knives Out sequels. Glass Onion was another success, and now Johnson is 3/3.
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For the week of December 8-14, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is the No. 1 movie worldwide on Netflix. In that time period, it racked up 20.2 million views and was watched for 49.2 million hours, easily beating out My Secret Santa and Jay Kelly for the top spot. Making this accomplishment all the more impressive is that Wake Up Dead Man wasn’t added to Netflix until Friday, December 12th, so it accumulated all these views in just a few short days.
Will the Knives Out Franchise Continue After Wake Up Dead Man?
Wake Up Dead Man isn’t just a hit with audiences. Like the previous two entries in the series, it also received excellent reviews. The film boasts a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% (the audience score is even higher with 94%), with considerable praise being given to the performances (Josh O’Connor as Father Jud Duplencity in particular) and the story’s compelling exploration of faith. When you add in another wildly entertaining turn from Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, Wake Up Dead Man makes for a thrilling whodunnit that could arguably be the franchise’s best outing yet.
Interest in Knives Out movies is as strong as ever, and with this now cemented as a popular Netflix franchise, the streamer would certainly be up for making further installments. Knives Out is a concept that lends itself easily to follow-ups, especially since the supporting cast around Craig changes in each film. There isn’t a serialized narrative that needs to be wrapped up; each installment is a standalone entry that tells its own story, giving Johnson the freedom to experiment with different styles and tones to keep things fresh. If he has an idea for a fourth Knives Out, Netflix would probably give him the green light.
Johnson recently addressed the future of Knives Out, revealing that he has “basic, elemental, conceptual ideas” for the next installment. However, the specific details have not been ironed out, and Knives Out 4 is not imminent. In the interim, Johnson is going to direct a new original film and take a bit of a break from Knives Out. While this will be disappointing for fans to hear, it’s arguably for the best. Johnson’s last three films have been the Knives Out trilogy, and when you also factor in his work on Poker Face, he’s been operating in the murder mystery realm for an extended period of time. Johnson made a name for himself by putting unique spins on everything from con man films (The Brothers Bloom) to sci-fi (Looper), so it’ll be great to see him work in a different genre again.
As the world waits to learn when they’ll get to see Benoit Blanc again, Wake Up Dead Man should continue to be a massive draw on Netflix for the next several weeks. It isn’t shaping up to be as much of a contender on the awards circuit as Jay Kelly, but the previous two Knives Out films received screenplay nominations, so cinephiles looking to keep up with potential Oscar players should take time to check it out. Even if it had no shot of earning any kind of accolades, Wake Up Dead Man is a great film that keeps audiences on their toes throughout its run time. The word of mouth will likely keep it on the top 10 chart for a while,
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Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
