Critics be damned: 'worst film of the year' Bright is a huge hit for Netflix
This has been a beguiling year for movie fans: the critically revered Mother! and Blade Runner flopped in cinemas, and The Last Jedi became the most divisive Star Wars film yet, with audiences considering it significantly worse than critics.
Fitting, then, that 2017 is being rounded off with the runaway success of Bright, a film widely maligned by critics, some of whom dubbed it "the worst film of the year".
Netflix's first blockbuster has reportedly racked up 11 million streams in the US during its first three days on the service, a total that is nearly quadruple the number of people who tuned in to see the return of The Crown, three days after season two aired.
That 11 million puts Bright almost on a par with Stranger Things, the first episode of which was watched by 15.8 million people in the first three days of its release on Netflix.
It's important to note that Netflix doesn't issue streaming figures. Instead, Variety calculated these through Nielsen estimates, which the streaming giant has disputed in the past. Nielsen also reports that Bright was watched by slightly more men (56 per cent) than women (44 per cent). According to The Wrap, the film would have made $98 million at the box office had it been released in the usual manner.
Bright reportedly had a budget of $90 million to bring its fairy-heavy fantasy to the small screen. Will Smith and Joel Edgerton star as police officers in a near future where humans live alongside orcs and fairies. With a critical score of just 26 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and comments from critics that include: "a muddled mess of a film" and "it’s just a life-raft struggling to stay intact in a gloopy and incessant flow of molten lava".
Those viewers who have shared their reviews on Twitter seem to back up the 88 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes:
Finally watched Bright. Agree with @mikeBithell's assessment. While the film had its flaws I'd much rather watch a new IP than the 18th rehashing of some worn out franchise. I look forward to the next instalment
— Thomas (@bullsczi) December 29, 2017
Me watching Bright:
5 minutes in—This is stupid
End of the first act—What’s going on with this wand
Midpoint—Can you rewind this? I didn’t catch that
End credits—Feeling shame that I can’t wait for the sequel...— teresa lo (@teresalo_tweets) December 29, 2017
I watched the movie Bright last night and it was so good!!!! Why did it get such bad ratings tho��
— iluvsarahii�� (@iluvsarahii) December 29, 2017
Not sure why there was so much hate towards Bright but that movie is pretty damn entertaining. Certainly not perfect but I’d love to see more stories in that universe.
— (((JonathanBarkan))) (@JonathanBarkan) December 29, 2017
#Bright Rotten Tomatoes score:
Critics 27%
Audience 87%
Star Wars #TheLastJedi Rotten Tomatoes score:
Critics 91%
Audience 51%
��— Austin (@AustinLatest) December 28, 2017
Bright is available to watch on Netflix now.