It looks like Netflix’s (NFLX) $ 200 million bet on “The Gray Man” may have paid off.
The action-packed film starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana De Armas debuted on the platform on Friday and quickly climbed to the top ten of the streamer’s competitive chart, despite lackluster reviews.
According to the company’s latest global vision report, subscribers watched more than 88 million hours of the film in the first three days on the platform (July 22 – July 24).
For context, “Red Notice” recorded more than 364 million viewing hours in its first 28 days, while “Don’t Look Up” accumulated 360 million hours over the same time period. “The Gray Man” is expected to surpass these figures.
In the wake of these numbers, Netflix has revealed that a sequel to “Gray Man” is already in development with Ryan Gosling and director duo Joe and Anthony Russo ready to return.
A spin-off is also in the works by “Deadpool” writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese.
“The Gray Man” (courtesy of Netflix)
The film’s $ 200 million budget makes it the most expensive Netflix movie to date.
“Films are a one-time thing and some of these costs have gotten so big,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro, told Yahoo Finance.
He described the current streaming landscape as a “Wild West”, with platforms looking for high-end content to keep up with their competitors.
“Budgets have increased,” Robbins added. “The talent is there. It’s just a question of which service will simplify the ability to consistently deliver quality products and retain subscribers.”
Netflix, which lost nearly 1 million subscribers in the second quarter and revealed weaker-than-expected driving for the third quarter, has been battling against an increase in the rate of subscriber churn or the number of customers leaving the service.
This is happening amid increased competition, with some industry observers warning that a “streaming recession” is on the horizon. The original streaming giant plans to introduce an ad-supported tier next year to alleviate some of these issues.
Another monetization opportunity is theatrical partnerships, which is why some industry observers wonder why “The Gray Man” didn’t get a broader theatrical launch.
Cinema “gives you a window where you can make a ton of money on top of your subscriptions, which may even pay the cost of some of these tentpole franchise titles,” Jon Christian, EVP of the digital media supply chain at Qvest , the largest media and entertainment-focused consulting firm, previously told Yahoo Finance.
Although Netflix has starred in a few original films in theaters, including the 2018 hit “Rome” and the more recent hits “The Irishman” and “Don’t Look Up”, those debuts (similar to “The Gray Man”) had a very short cinema Windows with much more limited versions.
“Those films show that quality can be achieved, but they haven’t had the same opportunities in theaters and could have done very well,” said Robbins, anticipating that integrating theater content with streaming will take time.
Alexandra is a Senior Entertainment and Food Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @ alliecanal8193 and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com
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