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The question has been asked for several years now in the world of cinema: how to defend cinemas, via the media chronology, in the face of the growing hegemony of the platforms? The distribution of Glass Onion: a story of daggers drawnin 2022, between theaters (in the United States and over a short period) and platform, would have even led to a scuffle between the CEO of Netflix and the interpreter of detective Benoît Blanc. A disagreement that emerges when Daniel Craig And Ryan Johnson prepare its new sequel, Wake Up, Dead Man.
We remember, the duo won the jackpot with the whodunnit At loggerheadsin 2019, big hit at $312M for a budget of $40M. Financed by Lionsgate, the film was also nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay. Daniel Craig signed a reconversion with panache at that time just before his farewell to his James Bond era. The screenwriter and director bounced back thanks to this project after the very mixed reception of his episode of Star Wars, The Last Jediby signing a very clever film.
Knives Out: Daniel Craig Unleashed [Critique]
Following this great public success, Netflix immediately signed with the actor and the director for two other sequels. At a high price, the two men being offered crazy amounts to continue the adventure with them. And quickly: Glass Onion A tale of daggers drawn is delivered in winter 2022.
It was then that Netflix, riding on the enthusiastic presentation at TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival), opted for a rather experimental release strategy for Glass Onion. Released on November 23 in American theaters, right on Thanksgiving, the film is completely canceled a week laterclaiming as a strategy “a special week of previews”.
You then have to wait a month for Netflix to release the film online, with the idea that this single week of release would have the effect of a giant advertisement for global distribution. The managers of the Red N company also know that if they put Glass Onion longer on display, they will not be able to offer it immediately in streaming, but will have to wait several weeks to respect the American media chronology, which largely justifies its limited distribution.
In the words of Ted Sarandosthe CEO of Netflix, the strategy also aims to reach the territories, the film being shown in more than 600 theaters:
“For the release of Glass Onion, we are somewhere between qualifying the film for the awards and the idea of having the film travel – a bit like going to a festival. It’s a way of condensing it all into a larger event.”
Knives Out 2 and 3: Rian Johnson goes behind the scenes of the historic deal between Netflix, Daniel Craig and him
The $15 million in revenue from this release may seem to pale in comparison to the half a billion paid by Netflix to purchase the two sequels, but for a limited release, this score was still encouraging: if the broadcast ofAt Knives Out 2 had been extended like that of Hollywood blockbusters (between 3000 and 4000 screens in the United States), Glass Onion could have perfectly been a cinema success.
At the Toronto festival, at the world premiere in November 2022, Daniel Craig was also seen attacking Sarandos in full projection.
As reported Slashfilmseveral spectators claim to have witnessed the scene: the actor bluntly suggests to the director of the company, in front of a galvanized audience, that the film would have been a hit in theaters. To the approximate comments of the CEO, who explains that he is looking for an alternative distribution model, Craig then responds according to Puck : “I'll take your distribution model.“
Did the initial deal between Netflix, Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson initially provide for better cinema distribution so that the star would feel cheated? The question of an ideal mode of distribution risks being asked again at the time of the release of Wake Up, Dead Man in 2025. A pre-trailer has already been broadcast on X and its casting looks as sparkling as ever. What about the theatrical release? We'll talk about it again in a few months…
Knives Out 3 would have cost a fortune