To understand why is the industry so conflicted over how to release movies, check out the contradictory paths of two Amazon films, “The Beekeeper” and “Road House.”
The first, which stars Jason Statham as a righteous avenger, is a $40 million production acquired by Amazon MGM for the US. It grossed $66 million in its domestic theatrical release and went on to become a hit as a $19.99 PVOD. Currently, it’s $5.99 to rent and is #1 at iTunes (which ranks by transactions) as well as Fandango (which tracks by revenue).
That’s nearly unheard of at Fandango, which sometimes see its entire top 10 comprised of $19.99 titles. It is also unusual for a mid-level success like “The Beekeeper” to be so dominant on VOD.
Meantime, “Road House” skipped theaters and leads Reelgood’s list of most-streamed movies for the week ending last Wednesday (#4 overall among all programs; episodic programs “3 Body Problem,” “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and “Quiet on the Set” ahead).
At Netflix, another random theatrical release dominates its most-watched movie chart. “The Little Things” with Denzel Washington is a Warner Bros. film that grossed $31 million worldwide in 2021 when it was released simultaneously on Max. Current Netflix producing partner Adam Sandler’s 1996 “Happy Gilmore” (from Universal) is #2.
Also noteworthy is “Knox Goes Away,” directed and starring Michael Keaton. A Toronto Film Festival premiere, it is #5 at iTunes (where it is the highest placing premium-rental film) and #3 at Fandango. It had a minimal theatrical release from Saban Pictures, with the expectation that home would be where the interest lay. Like “The Beekeeper,” it features a lone man seeking justice, with Keaton playing a veteran hit man facing dementia out to rescue his adult son. In its case, minimal theatrical exposure did nothing to diminish interest.
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” (Focus), the Sundance-premiered comedy that made little theatrical impact, is #9 on Fandango at $19.99. That sort of showing is very helpful for a film which will return little from theaters.
Netflix has two new originals charting this week, though not at the top like some other recent releases. “The Tearsmith,” an Italian romantic fantasy, is #5, while “Scoop,” about Prince Andrew’s disastrous press interview, debuted at #6.
Reelgood, filling the void for recent streaming results (Nielsen lags by about a month), continues to show that its results veer from wider-audience preferences. Reelgood app users seem to be older and more upscale, as evidenced by the still-high positions of Oscar winners like “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Poor Things.”
“Road House” has wider interest, so its #1 showing seems logical. But it is odd that “Damsel” — which only went aas high as #5 on Netflix’s own top 10 and dropping off after five days — is the streamer’s sole entry on the Reelgood list. It shows again the vagaries of trying to follow home viewing compared to the ease of reporting theatrical box office.
