$300+ million worldwide doesn’t guarantee you anything anymore in Hollywood. Sure, you might get a sequel, but seeing it on the big screen isn’t a sure thing. This is more or less what happened with Glass Onion, the sequel to 2019’s Knives Out, which had a short theatrical run on fewer than 700 screens because it was deemed more fitting for streaming. And while Rian Johnson has praised the release strategy (then again, Ted Sarandos is writing the checks, so who is he to disagree?), Benoit Blanc himself, Daniel Craig, wants to see Knives Out on the big screen.
Speaking with The New Yorker, Daniel Craig was asked how he feels about the Knives Out sequel not getting a full release in theaters, to which he replied, “Of course, it saddens me, especially with movies like Knives Out. Like I said, it’s a non-effects movie. It did all the things it should have done, and people went to see it. So, of course, it saddens me that people won’t have that experience. Does it anger me? I don’t think I can go that far. But it saddens me. But we’ll see. I have no idea what the plan is for this third one now, so I don’t know.”
Even still, Glass Onion was wildly successful on Netflix, logging a reported around 210 million hours watched in the first 10 days. While we can’t truly determine if that can be equated to box office numbers or not, it does seem like something we might need to get used to, at least as far as Netflix goes.
So where does that leave Knives Out 3, officially titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery? While people like Daniel Craig are pushing for a wid theatrical run, with Sarandos saying we shouldn’t expect to see any Netflix productions in movie theaters, it’s extremely unlikely Craig – or those of us who love that experience – will get our way. In short, Netflix is not making this a twisted web.
Like the previous two Knives Out movies, Wake Up Dead Man has assembled a commendable ensemble. In addition to Craig, the movie will feature Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Josh O’Connor, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, and more.
