‘Free Guy’ Rules at Home, but What’s New on VOD Is ‘Old’ (and ‘Old Henry’)

“Free Guy” (Disney/$19.99) continued to dominate VOD charts over the weekend. Shawn Levy’s action comedy with Ryan Reynolds repeated as #1 for a second week at iTunes and Google Play (ranked by transactions) and Vudu (which calculates by revenue). Meantime, the highest grossing non-franchise domestic release in theaters since “1917” almost two years ago held the #6 position in theaters this weekend, despite its home availability and losing 1,050 theaters. Once again, both hands are washing each other to mutual benefit.

A mere 14 titles charted across all three charts, which, continuing a recent trend, saw a broad consistency irrespective of the method of calculating results. Only three new films broke into any of the top 10 listings, but two placed second on one chart each. Their routes were very different, though.

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M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” has been the only Universal release in over a year to not have a Premium VOD release three weeks after hitting theaters (though because of its higher opening gross, “F9” hit after 31 days). It appeared after 75 days. That was the standard just before Covid upended the rules. It has grossed $48 million, with the fewest tickets sold for any of the director’s films since his breakout “The Sixth Sense.”

Only $7.7 million of that total came after the third week. How “Old” sustains its performance after its debut on VOD will give a sense of whether the delay helped its overall financial returns. With only limited data and no hard figures, it will be a guess. But “Candyman,” which had grossed $48 million by the time it was released on PVOD will end up adding $14 million at theaters after. And it has charted for four weeks so far, #1 initially across the board. “Old” is #2 at Vudu, #4 at iTunes, and #5 at Google Play, not close to the same initial result.

“Old Henry” (Shout Factory/$6.99) took an entirely different route to release, and its initial #2 showing at iTunes (usually the quickest to respond to new releases) comes after a one-week play in 30 theaters, and a gross so far of only $34,000. The Venice-premiered film got good but not stellar reviews, but apparently a new western with veteran Tim Blake Nelson has enough appeal to make an initial strong showing. If its minimal one-week window and more limited exposure was enough to get this result (how it holds and appearances elsewhere still need to be seen to discern its success), the non-PVOD price — iTunes was also the only platform where it made its nationwide debut — made it that much more attractive.

Three other films joined “Free Guy” and “Old” on all charts. “The Addams Family 2” (United Artists/$19.99) is either #2 or 3 among them, parallel to its second weekend in theaters ($31 million raked in so far). “F9” (Universal/$5.99) continues to soar at its reduced price. “Snake Eyes” (Paramount/$5.99), also now lower cost, ranked overall a little lower than the others.

“The Night House” (Searchlight/$14.99), a wide horror summer release from Disney’s specialized unit, was the only other debut film. It placed at iTunes and Vudu.

“The Guilty” has led Netflix’s movie charts for two weekends now, a rarity recently for their original titles (Melissa McCarthy’s “The Starling,” its immediate predecessor, is already gone from their top 10). “There’s Someone Inside the House” is #2. This adaptation of a young adult horror novel has James Wan and Shawn Levy among its producers.

Overall the Netflix chart reverts to a majority of theatrical releases, with “Titanic” at #3 the highest ranked. The perennial classic, which has been virtually all platforms for much of its 24 year existence, is outpacing other titles like “Jaws” and “The Karate Kid” which have recently placed.

iTunes and Google Play rank films daily by number of transactions, irrespective of revenue accrued. These are the listings for October 11. Distributors listed are current rights owners.

iTunes

1. Free Guy (Disney) – $19.99

2. Old Henry (Shout) – $6.99

3. The Addams Family 2 (United Artists) – $19.99

4. Old (Universal) – $19.99

5. Venom (Sony) – $2.99

6. F9 (Universal) – $5.99 ($19.99 for the director’s cut)

7. Spectre (Sony) – $

8. Jungle Cruise (Disney) – $

9. The Night House (Searchlight) – $

10. Snake Eyes (Paramount) – $4.99

Google Play

1. Free Guy (Disney) – $19.99

2. The Addams Family 2 (United Artists) – $19.99

3. Venom (Sony) – $3.99

4. F9 (Universal) – $5.99 ($19.99 for the director’s cut)

5. Old (Universal) – $19.99

6. Snake Eyes (Paramount) – $4.99

7. The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (Lionsgate) – $5.99

8. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) – $5.99

9. Spectre (Sony) – $3.99

10. Candyman (Universal) – $19.99

Vudu

Vudu ranks by revenue, not transactions, which elevates Premium VOD titles. This list covers October 4-10

1. Free Guy (Disney) – $19.99

2. Old (Universal) – $19.99

3. The Addams Family 2 (United Artists) – $19.99

4. Jungle Cruise (Disney) – $19.99

5. Snake Eyes (Paramount) – $4.99

6. The Night House (Searchlight) – $14.99

7. F9 (Universal) – $5.99

8. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) – $4.99

9. Candyman (Universal) – $19.99

10. The Forever Purge (Universal) – $5.99

NETFLIX © 2021

Netflix Movies

Most viewed, current ranking as of Monday, October 11; originals include both Netflix-produced and -acquired titles they initially presented in the U.S.

1. The Guilty (2021 Netflix original)

2. There’s Someone Inside the House (2021 Netflix original)

3. Titanic (1997 theatrical release)

4. My Little Pony (2021 Netflix animated original)

5. Something Borrowed (2011 theatrical release)

6. Step Brothers (2008 theatrical release)

7. Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2021 Netflix animated original)

8. The Duff (2015 theatrical release)

9. Hall Pass (2011 theatrical release)

10. The Karate Kid (2010 theatrical release)

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