If you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, you might want to consider The Northman. Robert Eggers’ Viking epic starring Alexander Skarsgård will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray next week, but The Northman is now available for streaming on Peacock.
The Northman is “an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder.” In addition to Alexander Skarsgård, The Northman also stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk, and more. The film received largely positive reviews, but performed poorly at the box office, grossing $67 million worldwide against a $70-90 million budget. It has performed well in the VOD market, but Robert Eggers commented on the lacklustre box office while speaking with The Daily Beast last month.
I think it met the expectations of a bad marketplace [laughs]. Am I disappointed that, three to four weeks in, we’re on VOD because that’s the way things are done in the post-COVID world? Yeah. But it’s doing great on VOD, so there you go. When I see, on social media, people taking a photo of themselves watching The Northman on their laptop and being excited about it, it draws a tear to my eye. But it is what it is.
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Moving forward, Robert Eggers said that he plans on restrategizing what he’s pitching to studios. “Like, how do I be me and survive in this environment?” Eggers said. “Because while they wouldn’t have me anyway, I wouldn’t want to direct a Marvel movie, and I’m also not going to try to get the rights to Spawn or something either. I’m going to keep doing what I’m going to do. But I know that everybody’s nervous right now, you know? Everybody’s nervous. And it’s justifiable.“
Our own Chris Bumbray was blown away by The Northman, saying that it “delivers all of the action you want from a movie like this, but Eggers also elevates it by giving it a truly original, artistic bent. This is one of the best mixings of the arthouse and blockbuster genres that I’ve ever seen. Trust me when I tell you, The Northman is a masterpiece.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s glowing review right here. Will you be checking out The Northman streaming on Peacock this weekend?
