Behind the theatrical release that ended faster than our New Year’s resolutions

The movie Glass Onion, Netflix’s sequel to Knives Out, completed its limited theatrical run last night. To quickly recap: the movie debuted in 600 AMC, Regal, and Cinemark theaters over Thanksgiving weekend, where it was shown for one week – and one week only.

So if you haven’t seen the film, which currently has a 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the only way to watch it now is to have a Netflix login after December 23.

Official box office numbers aren’t available, but the movie reportedly grossed between $13–$15 million during the seven days it was out. And per analysts, that number could’ve safely reached $30+ million – as well as $200+ million over its entire theatrical run – had the film’s release included the traditional studio marketing push and wider theatrical release on thousands of screens.

🤔 So, why pull it from theaters?... For the time-being, the streaming giant is laser-focused on selling and retaining subscriptions, per co-CEO Ted Sarandos. And Glass Onion’s limited theatrical run is a good way to generate buzz around the movie, similar to an “underplay” in the music industry, when an act is purposely booked to play smaller-than-usual venues to drive anticipation and PR for an upcoming album release or tour.

Plus, Director Rian Johnson reportedly pushed for live audiences to see the movie… and when you shell out a reported $450 million for the franchise, it’s probably important to keep its creator happy.