It’s become readily apparent, over the years, that Netflix really has no desire to give its original films a true theatrical release. To appease filmmakers (and qualify them for awards), Netflix will do an incredibly small release for some of its films. But by and large, Netflix original films are going to be seen by the vast majority on their TVs and various devices. And according to a new report, that’s something that doesn’t sit right with actor Daniel Craig.
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In a new report from Puck, there was a situation detailed that happened between Daniel Craig and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. The interaction came during the world premiere of “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” in Toronto. Apparently, as you might expect from that type of event, the crowd went wild for the ‘Knives Out’ sequel. This led Craig to talk to Sarandos about expanding the theatrical release to be more than the bare minimum. When Sarandos reiterated the mantra that full theatrical releases aren’t part of the “model,” that led Craig to basically respond, “Your model is fucked.”
Now, Craig isn’t the first person to be upset with the release model that is used by Netflix. Many of the filmmakers that Netflix has worked with have been pushing for more of a large-scale theatrical release. Unfortunately for them, that’s just not in the cards. Netflix is a subscription-based company that just wants to grow its user base. And the best way to do that is to have exclusive content that you can’t get anywhere else.
For all intents and purposes, it’s clear to us that “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” was a big winner for Netflix. During its first week of release, Netflix said the film was viewed for 82.1 million hours. That makes it one of the biggest hits in the streamer’s history. So, if the purpose of the film was to draw eyes on Netflix, then it worked. That said, you can play Devil’s advocate and say that the popularity on Netflix would have translated to a wide release. But we’ll just never know if that’s true or not.
The third ‘Knives Out’ film is expected to arrive in 2025. Maybe we’ll see Netflix bend its rules for Craig and Co. then? Yeah, probably not.
