Written by Kianna Best on Nov 28, 2022. Posted in Production News

The Glass Onion theatrical sneak preview raises questions on release strategy

With its special week long preview event that started on 23 November, Glass Onion, A Knives Out Tale with approximate USD 13.3million made over five days. Starring cast return Daniel Craig, and welcoming Janelle Monae, Kate Hudson and many more to build up the star studded cast, the murder mystery with a comedic twist is projected to reach a USD 15milion performance by tomorrow. The official release is set just in time for the holidays on 23 December on Netflix in in theatres.

In this follow up to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, Glass Onion once again follows Benoit Blanc on his adventurous escapades at a luxurious private estate on a Greek island. Beating out Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynold’s Red Notice which had a three day opening performance of USD 1.25 million to 1.5 million. Whilst impressive, these figures were blown out of the water by Rian’s latest flick with a 3 day performance of USD 9.3 million.

For his newest project, Johnson announced in October that he would be embarking on a unique release method following the strong response from audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival. With partnerships with a series of popular movie theatre chains, the film was release in the US as well as internationally, including Canada, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.

Rian Johnson stated: “I’m over the moon that Netflix has worked with AMC, Regal and Cinemark to get Glass Onion in theatres for this one of a kind sneak preview. These movies are made to thrill audiences, and I can’t wait to feel the energy of the crowd as they experience GLASS ONION. Between this and the release on Netflix in December, I'm excited that audiences around the world will be able to enjoy the film!"

However, in comparison to its predecessors release in 2019, it can be argued that this release strategy was a less than fortuitous approach. With Knives Out, distributed by Lionsgate to 3,461 locations over the five-day Thanksgiving period, the feature film made USD 41.4 million, topping with a domestic outcome of USD 164.5 million and international triumph of USD 313 million.

With a direct time frame comparison, the only difference being that this year presented less difficulty in not having to compete with a post Covid return to normalcy, could the staggered release may have proven to be a misjudged step?

Images courtesy of Netflix