It must be nice to be a publicist for Netflix. Most PR people for studios get to talk about all the great things about the films and TV series that they release. However, that job also comes the backlash and the way that you have to spin negative numbers and reactions. Think about those that work for Sony right now and all that negative box office talk surrounding “Men in Black: International,” for example. But at Netflix, since no one knows the numbers, the streaming service is able to only release the good ones. And the company sure does like to toot its own horn.
The most recent example of this is with the Jennifer Aniston/Adam Sandler film that hit the service over the weekend, “Murder Mystery.” There’s no denying that there is an audience for this sort of broad, dumb comedy film, but by and large, the idea of a new Sandler film is the cinephile equivalent of getting comically kicked in the balls. Well, if you believe the numbers that Netflix just tweeted about “Murder Mystery,” then it appears that there’s plenty of folks that still enjoy his brand of comedy. Lord, help us.
The streaming service tweeted, “30,869,863 accounts watched ‘Murder Mystery’ in its first 3 days – the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix Film. 13,374,914 accounts in the US and Canada, and 17,494,949 more worldwide.”
Yes, we like to joke about Sandler’s films being…less than good. Honestly, at least in my mind, he hasn’t had a solid comedic outing since “Big Daddy.” (Funny enough, Paul Thomas Anderson is also a big proponent of the film.) Since then, his films have covered a lot of the same material, with each one feeling like a summer vacation for Sandler and his buddies, where they take breaks to make a movie.
That being said, he is using this Netflix freedom to expand his horizons, if only a little bit. He did a Western with “The Ridiculous Six.” He tried to be weird in “Sandy Wexler.” Hell, he even released his own comedy special. Now, he tackled the classic Agatha Christie model of mystery with “Murder Mystery.” But yeah, even with his “experimentation,” it doesn’t appear that he’s gotten much better.
Regardless of my opinion (and yes, there are plenty that disregard my thoughts on a daily basis), people sure do love Sandler and his films. Almost 31 million people, to be exact.
????ADAM SANDLER AND JENNIFER ANISTON BREAKING NEWS ALERT????
30,869,863 accounts watched Murder Mystery in its first 3 days – the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix Film. 13,374,914 accounts in the US and Canada, and 17,494,949 more worldwide.
— Netflix Is A Joke (@NetflixIsAJoke) June 18, 2019