Theaters wanted ‘Stabs in the Back: The Mystery of the Glass Onion’ for multiple weeks at the box office, but Netflix turned it down

The sequel to ‘Puñales por el espalda’ hit theaters last Wednesday, November 23, but only lasted one week on the bill. Then it will premiere on Netflix on December 23rd. Theaters have pressed the platform to show Rian Johnson’s film longer in theaters, as well as consider expanding the release to more theaters, but Netflix has declined.

The platform stuck to its plan, which was to release “Punches in the back: The Mystery of Glass Onion” in just 638 theaters in the United States. This action pursued the objective of increasing the enthusiasm and expectations of the public, who this time would have exercised word of mouth, in view of the imminent release of the film on Netflix. This exclusivity of reaching only certain theaters and staying only one week at the box office is one of the keys to the platform’s marketing of feature films.

Another reason Netflix has given for this brief theatrical release is simply to meet its commercial goals. According to its CEO, Ted Sarandos, the company’s goal is to grow its subscriber base, not sell movie tickets. Sarandos explains that its platform activity consists of “entertain our members with Netflix movies, on Netflix. That’s where we focus all of our energy and most of our spending.”

However, after the box office success in the United States, with an estimated $ 13 million in five days, and pleas from theaters, for the steep drop in box office (33% less from 2019, according to Comscore ), Netflix is ​​reconsidering releasing “The Mystery of the Glass Onion” in theaters, but would do so after its premiere on the platform and never before, according to Variety.

The Daniel Craig-starring film netted an estimated $40 million on top of the $450 million the platform spent getting the rights to two sequels, so it’s not a minor gamble for Netflix, but one of their biggest. ambitious projects. This means that the platform will bet on the feature film and that, surely, it will be essential to increase its subscribers this Christmas. turning this possible hit into the premise for ‘Daggers in the back: The Mystery of Glass Onion’ to return to theaters in a while.

It would fetch as much as $200 million at the box office

Unfortunately the only confirmation we have at the moment is the fact that the film will arrive on Netflix on December 23rd and that we had the possibility to go to the cinema to see ‘The Mystery of the Glass Onion’, even if it was only for a week. But, What if this mystery-shrouded comedy had come out on a regular basis? That is, with a traditional release of 2,000 to 4,000 theaters and staying at the box office for more than a week. According to the estimates of box office analysts, if the film had been released regularly in theaters it could have collected more than $200 million in ticket sales.

“This is exactly the kind of movie that adults want to see in theaters right now. The family element made “Puñales por el espalda” a perfect Thanksgiving premiere for audiences across the country three years ago. The return of Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, sharp storytelling from Rian Johnson and another round of positive reviews for ‘Mystery of the Glass Onion’ build on the previous film’s excellent benevolence while this semi-sequel reaps some rewards. but it may be said that he could have achieved even greater results”, explained Shawn Robbins, lead analyst at BoxOffice.com.

According to several analysts, If ‘Knives in the Back: The Mystery of the Glass Onion’ had come out in the usual way, it would have been successful, of that they have no doubts. However, Netflix is ​​more interested in seeing it succeed on its platform and not in theaters.