Although Knives Out had an impressive run in theatres, when the franchise was bought by streaming service Netflix, it soon became apparent that they were going for a different approach with their follow-up to the detective movie.
As with the first movie, former James Bond movie actor Daniel Craig returns in his acclaimed role as detective Benoit Blanc, and amid the ensemble cast are some of Hollywood’s best, including Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Leslie Odom Jr, Ed Norton, Kathryn Hahn, and Dave Bautista, among others.
But as the streamer continues to battle against dwindling numbers, Variety reports that Netflix “intentionally” limited the comedy movie‘s theatrical reach in order to build hype for its release to the platform. The outlet claims that despite several cinema owners begging for a longer theatrical run than its one-week stint, the streamer refused.
Sources cited by Variety speculate that the film scored more than $13 million over Thanksgiving weekend, alongside $15 million during its week-long run.
According to Variety, if these numbers were public, it would place Knives Out 2 third in the domestic box office charts behind Black Panther 2 and Strange World. And furthermore, if it stayed in theatres for longer, the outlet speculate it had a good chance of not just knocking out Strange World, but snatching the No.1 box office spot from the Marvel movie entirely.
“With a strong marketing campaign and a big, wide release, the sequel would have opened in the low $30 million domestically and made $300 million worldwide,” David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, told Variety. “Wide releases make most of their money from their top 1,000 screens.”
As we try to solve the mystery of Knives Out 2’s box office success, why not check out our guide to some of the highest-grossing movies of all time?