The 2010s weren’t the most thrilling time for mid-budget films, which were once the cornerstone of Hollywood, and Netflix has been one of the biggest perpetrators behind this trend. With their model prioritizing streaming over big-screen releases, the incentive to give mid-budget releases a major release window among top studios has greatly fallen in the past decade.
However, 2019’s Knives Out felt like an exception. Despite not having the appeal of a big-budget blockbuster, the Daniel Craig-led flick pulled great numbers commercially. Unfortunately, Netflix’s acquisition of the IP led to its sequel’s theatre window being limited, which didn’t exactly sit right with its lead.
Daniel Craig Was Fuming Over Knives Out 2’s Limited Theatre Run
While it seemed like Knives Out‘s success would reinvigorate the trend of mid-budget releases in the mainstream landscape, given its collection of $312M, things took a dramatic turn after Netflix acquired the rights to the IP. Although the deal meant Rian Johnson could’ve total creative freedom over the sequels, it came at the cost of its theatre run, as the film only received a week-long run in 600 theatres.
Daniel Craig was reportedly not very thrilled about Netflix’s release model, as insiders claimed there was some back and forth between the James Bond actor and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos during the sequel’s premiere at TIFF. Following the film’s reception at TIFF, which proved the IP was meant for a theatre audience, Craig reportedly called out Sarandos over Netflix’s model.
The report (via World of Reel) read:
According to two sources, Craig pointed to the ovation for the film as evidence that it was made for a large group audience and should thus get a longer window in theaters. Ted repeated the usual “not our model” mantra, which prompted Craig to reply with an expletive unfit for a family newsletter. (It was a variation on “Your model is fucked.”) And while Craig wasn’t so angry that he refused to collect his tens of millions of dollars from the Netflix deal for those Knives Out sequels, his sentiment is widely held throughout the industry. Which Ted also knows, of course.
Craig wasn’t wrong, as Netflix’s oversaturated catalog often overshadows quality releases, which could’ve been great hits at the box office had they been given some proper boost. As for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, despite its limited theatre run, the sequel boosted over $13M during its week-long run.
Ted Sarandos Doubled Down on Netflix’s Controversial Release Model
Despite many being against Netflix’s release model, Ted Sarandos has remained unfazed at the top, and it appears, the entertainment giant isn’t slowing down with its structure anytime soon. Responding to the pushback, Sarandos doubled down on their methods, adding that their main target remains their subscribers.
There are all kinds of debates all the time, back and forth. But there is no question internally that we make our movies for our members, and we really want them to watch them on Netflix.
Considering how big of a phenomenon the first Knives Out was, the sequels being buried under Netflix’s overwhelming catalog, we were robbed of what could’ve been a boost of mid-budget films on the big-screen landscape.
No release date for Knives Out 3 has been made public.
