Critics might not like “Bright,” but John Boyega and audiences seem to dig it. Netflix was smirked at for their confidence at stepping into the blockbuster space with a $90 million human and orcs cop movie, that already has a sequel in the works. However, it looks like they might have the last laugh.
Ratings giant Nielsen is the latest to try and crunch Netflix’s impenetrable wall of data, and according to them, “Bright” scored 11 million viewers across its first three days in the U.S. alone. If each one of those viewers paid $10 for a ticket (but let’s face it, that’s faulty logic) that would be an opening weekend well over $100 million at the cinema. But needless to say, those are huge numbers, and especially if there is any kind of parallel interest with Netflix subscribers around the world.
For comparison sake, Nielsen revealed that the first episode of “Stranger Things 2” — easily the most popular series on Netflix — pulled in 15 million sets of eyes when it launched in October. So, scoff all you want at “Bright,” but the dorky looking movie seems to be turning heads. It was also probably a savvy move by Netflix to drop the movie on the Christmas long weekend when people would be spending more time curled with their Netflix account.
Of course, Netflix will never confirm exact numbers, but this is definitely the kind of narrative they want to carry into 2018. Did you see “Bright”? Are critics being too tough on it? Let us know in the comments section. [Deadline/EW]