Netflix’s ‘Knives Out 2’ debuts in theatres, pulling $18.3 million

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“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”, the first movie from Netflix to appear in the largest theatre chains in North America before it is available on streaming, brought in US$13.3 million (S$18.3 million) over five days in a closely watched limited run.

The total is projected to reach US$15 million in the United States and Canada when the film completes its seven-day run this week, according to a person familiar with the matter. The movie played on almost 700 screens, for revenue of about US$19,000 a screen, the best average for any film over the weekend, said the person.

The film, a sequel to the 2019 hit Knives Out, played in theatres owned by AMC Entertainment, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark, the biggest US cinema circuits.

The companies have resisted working with Netflix because the streaming provider prefers to debut its movies simultaneously or shortly after they appear in cinemas. Once Glass Onion’s theatrical run ends, it will not be available until Dec 23, when it appears on Netflix.

AMC chief executive Adam Aron tweeted on Sunday that he was encouraged by the results, saying they would lead to “more of Netflix down the road”.

Boxoffice Pro had projected that Glass Onion would gross as much as US$15 million over the five-day weekend that started last Wednesday.

The result was good enough for third place in an otherwise slow weekend for theatres in North America. Walt Disney’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was No. 1 with a US$64 million haul over five days, while the company’s animated Strange World brought in a disappointing US$18.6 million, according to ComScore.