Rian Johnson joins the debate over the release strategy for his latest film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
The director told Insider in an interview published online on Friday that he’s pushing for his Knives Out sequel to return to theaters once the Netflix film begins streaming on the platform December 23. The new film, starring Daniel Craig, was given a one-week limited theatrical run that began November 23, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently admitted the company was leaving “a lot” of money on the table by not offering a wider one release, but that the focus remains on the streaming business.
“I’m urging all the theaters we can take it to anytime,” Johnson told the outlet. “I want more people to have the opportunity to see it.”
Johnson said it’s still unclear if theater chains plan to bring the film down the holiday corridor after its Netflix debut. “Once it’s in service it will be available to theaters and we’re exploring what form that can take,” he continued. “I’ll take as much as I can get. But a lot of that has to do with what theaters are willing to do that makes sense.”
After the first Knives Out grossed nearly $313 million worldwide when Lionsgate released it in 2019, Netflix chose to book Glass Onion in fewer than 700 North American theaters for a week. Insiders linked to theater owners previously told that the sequel likely grossed between $12.7 million and $13 million domestically during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday.
Speaking to Insider, Johnson confirmed that the film’s box office reports were accurate, and he praised Netflix for giving the film the run it got. However, Johnson also made it clear that he would like more time in theaters for the third Knives Out film, which Netflix is also set to pick up.
“We were very interested in how it went,” the filmmaker said of the Glass Onion box office. “We wanted it to go incredibly well for many reasons. I appreciate for me because I really want to show that this can happen and that this can be a huge success. And that when it hits the service, people will still show up, and it’s going to be huge on the service. That these two things can complement each other. Because I want more next time. I want more theatre. I want it longer.”