Despite a limited release period in fewer theatres, the upcoming sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will probably open towards the top of the box office. After receiving negative reviews for his 2018 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, some viewers saw Rian Johnson’s 2019 film Knives Out as a return to form. Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc, a detective entrusted with determining who killed a wealthy novelist in the murder mystery movie. Due to Knives Out’s enormous success, a special Netflix sequel has been created.
Glass Onion: A Knives Up Mystery will close out a limited theatrical run in the top three spots of the national box office before its much-awaited streaming debut. Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, Steven Spielberg’s The Fablemans, Jonathan Majors’ Devotion, Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, and Jonathan Majors’ The Menu, are among the other adult options that the sequel is expected to outperform.
What Netflix Could Learn From the Box Office Performance of Glass Onion
For a sequel to a well-liked original product that topped several critics’ top 10 lists in 2019 and has probably evolved into a modern classic, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s box office expectations initially appear low. In contrast to the expected No. 1 and No. 2 movies, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Disney’s Strange World, which are each projected to have over 4,000 cinemas, Netflix is only releasing the movie in 638 theatres nationally. Its performance is even more astounding considering that Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s expected income is only around $4 million less than that of the most recent Disney animated film, though this may speak more to the popularity of Strange World than the first Knives Out movie.
There are a few important conclusions from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s anticipated performance. First, audiences are demonstrably eager about the movie because of the good reception of Johnson’s franchise debut, Knives Out, and the superb ensemble cast for the follow-up. Additionally, marketing materials, such as the movie’s trailer, promise an improved murder mystery with elements that contributed to Knives Out’s success: humor and charm. The second conclusion is that Netflix might have made a huge error by choosing not to release Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in more cinemas. Even though this was the streamer’s biggest theatrical opening to date, a standard release might have generated over $50 million in ticket sales.
Since the studio withholds its financial information, viewers may never know how well Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery would have performed this weekend. However, the estimated numbers show that Netflix blew a huge opportunity to expand the Knives Out sequel’s theatrical premiere. Given the potential of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix might decide to make a more active theatrical push for important films in the future, such as the upcoming Knives Out 3. Such marketing will be necessary if Netflix buys more alternative adult programming that can compete with the MCU and children’s movies.