‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One’ Cost Paramount Money with Its Late PVOD Arrival
Looking at PVOD and Netflix charts this week reveals some significant findings.
The just-debuted “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” tops all lists in its first week of release as assumed. That comes 90 days after its release. Did theaters benefit? Not really.
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Netflix has a top 10 with eight studio titles, six from Universal, including #1 “Tammy” with Melissa McCarthy. But the big news here? “Fair Play,” last week’s #1 and a $20 million Sundance acquisition for the streamer, dropped off the list after only eight days.
Both suggest a result that could influence future decisions. For “Reckoning,” the hope was that delaying its initial home release 90 days would extend its theatrical run. That didn’t happen.
In the 30 days up to its PVOD release, it grossed less than $2 million in theaters. This year, only a handful of films have had a 60 days or longer window, most at close to that time. “Barbie” was released on PVOD after 53 days.
This delay cost Paramount and Cruise money. Studios get 80 percent of the revenue after carrier deductions. At a minimum it would have been collected sooner. It’s also hard to believe releasing when the film was more current wouldn’t have boosted revenues. And potentially it might have been an excuse to charge, like “Barbie,” more than $19.99.
Cruise, like Christopher Nolan (whose “Oppenheimer” is approaching the 90-day mark since release; this weekend it grossed $300,000 in theaters), is a fan of long windows. But they are fighting the norm, with no sense that these exceptions help theaters.
In the meantime, they are hurting their revenue. Particularly “Reckoning,” the combined production and marketing cost of which approached $500 million while grossing about $570 million (perhaps $300 million for Paramount), could not afford to scorn money like this.
Trying to make sense out of Netflix expenditures defies logic. But when spending $20 million on a film as they did for “Fair Play” after its great audience reaction as a Sundance Dramatic section selection, one might expect it to have more than a brief top 19 run.
After showing again at Toronto, and with a one-week limited big city theater run, it debuted at #1 on October 7. It was replaced after three days by, ironically, a Tom Cruise film (“American Made”), which was #1 for five days (currently #3). That “Fair Play” did reach the top initially suggests no marketing issues, but rather a less than stellar audience reaction.
Compare that to their original “Reptile,” a mystery with Benicio Del Toro, and Justin Timberlake. It has been in the top four for three weekends, #1 for 10 days, now #4. It did have a Toronto premiere, but with vastly less attention than “Fair Play” received.
“Fair Play” was coproduced by T-Street, Rian Johnson’s production company (with a strong “Knives Out” Netflix connection). The sense at Sundance, as multiple companies bid for rights, was that it was a crowd pleaser with a chance to reach an audience more than last year’s mostly weak Oscar contenders had done. We’ll never know, nor if this was really worth the investment for Netflix. How they proceed with acquisitions next year will tell more.
The VOD charts varied little. All have “The Equalizer 3” second. Just out “The Expendables 4” after three weeks debuted at #3 at both iTunes and Vudu. Both are at $19.99. “Barbie,” “Gran Torino,” “The Nun II,” and “Blue Beetle” all placed everywhere.
The second Netflix original on the top 10 “The Conference,” a Swedish horror comedy which is #6. “Deliver Us from Evil,” a Sony 2013 thriller is #2.
iTunes and Google Play rank films daily by number of transactions. These are the listings for Monday, October 16. Distributors listed are current rights owners. Prices for all titles are for lowest for either rental or download.
iTunes
1. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One (Paramount) – $19.99
2. The Equalizer 3 (Sony) – $19.99
3. The Expendables 4 (Lionsgate) – $19.99
4. Barbie (WB) – $24.99
5. Talk to Me (A24) – $5.99
6. No Hard Feelings (Sony) – $5.99
7. Gran Turismo (Sony) – $14.99
8. The Nun II (WB) – $19.99
9. Blue Beetle (WB) – $19.99
10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) – $5.99
Google Play
1. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One (Paramount) – $19.99
2. The Equalizer II (Sony) – $19.99
3. Barbie (WB) – $24.99
4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) – $5.99
5. Talk to Me (A24) – $4.99
6. The Nun II (WB) – $19.99
7. No Hard Feelings (Sony) – $5.99
8. Blue Beetle (WB) – $19.99
9. Gran Turismo (Sony) – $14.99
10. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99
Vudu
Vudu ranks by revenue, not transactions, elevating premium VOD titles. This list covers October 9 – 15.
1. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One (Paramount) – $19.99
2. The Equalizer 3 (Sony) – $19.99
3. The Expendables 4 (Lionsgate) – $19.99
4. Gran Turismo (Sony) – $14.99
5. The Nun II (WB) – $19.99
6. Barbie (WB) – $24.99
7. Blue Beetle (WB) – $19.99
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount) – $5.99
9. Haunted Mansion (Disney) – $19.99
10. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Disney) – $12.99
Netflix Movies
Most viewed, current ranking on Netflix’s daily chart on Monday, October 16. Originals include both Netflix-produced and acquired titles it initially presents in the U.S. Netflix publishes its own weekly top 10 on Tuesdays based on time viewed
1. Tammy (2014 theatrical release)
2. Deliver Us from Evil (2014 theatrical release)
3. American Made (2017 theatrical release)
4. Reptile (Netflix original)
5. Casper (1995 theatrical release)
6. The Conference (Netflix Swedish original)
7. Ma (2019 theatrical release)
8. The Misfits (2021 theatrical release)
9. Get Out (2017 theatrical release)
10. Us (2019 theatrical release)
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