Rian Johnson continues to outdo himself with a Knives Out installment that’s arguably as good as its acclaimed predecessor. Glass Onion features a stellar ensemble cast, including Edward Norton as a sort of accidental Elon Musk likeness — but the whodunit film’s perks don’t stop there. It’s got breathtaking visuals, excellent pacing, and top-notch storytelling. Plus, did you hear Daniel Craig made a fantastic return here as “Detective Blank,” as Toni Collette so eloquently put it in the O.G. film. So, why the controversy surrounding this more recent mystery offering?

For starters, the Knives Out sequel is arguably one of Netflix’s biggest swings yet when it comes to “original films,” with the streaming giant reportedly paying Johnson and his team more than $450 million for a pair of sequels to the 2019 film. The film also had a limited theatrical run during the week of American Thanksgiving, taking home roughly $13 million, though it’s been widely argued that Netflix likely left millions on the table by not doing a longer, traditional theatrical run.

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History of the Knives Out Franchise

     Lionsgate

First, let’s take a step back and look at the franchise as a whole. Johnson’s first Knives Out installment follows a master detective, Benoit Blanc, investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. The film stars an ensemble cast that also includes Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, and the late, great Christopher Plummer. After years of speculation, the project had been officially announced in 2018 and was theatrically released in the U.S. in November 2019 by Lionsgate.

The film, of course, received widespread critical acclaim and grossed over $311 million worldwide on just a $40 million budget. It even received three nominations at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, while also receiving a Best Original Screenplay nod at the Oscars that year. Last year, Netflix reportedly paid $469 million for the rights to two sequels written and directed by Johnson, with Craig reprising his role. The first, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, was released in 2022.

In addition to the other terrific components of the sequel, Glass Onion also allowed Johnson and Craig to peel back the layers of Blanc as a character. That included the reveal that he lives with and is married to another man, who turned out to be played by the iconic Hugh Grant in a fun little cameo appearance. Where Blanc’s next case takes him is something that is also currently shrouded in mystery, but there’s no doubt a third Knives Out installment will also be a hit if Johnson and Craig indeed return.

Assessing Netflix’s Strategy for Glass Onion

     Netflix

Speaking of “hit” — let’s look closer at whether Netflix effectively capitalized on its top-notch content that is Glass Onion. The film had premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September 2022, and continued to make the festival rounds the rest of the year. After making that quick theatrical run in November, Netflix finally released the film on December 23, at which point Netflix would allow theaters to show the film again. But as Deadline just reported, it was an eventful 10 or so days for the streaming giant when it comes to Glass Onion: The film has skyrocketed to become Netflix’s third most-watched film within 10 days of release, behind Red Notice and Don’t Look Up. (Netflix measures its most popular lists based on the first 28 days of viewing.)

Deadline had also previously reported that some smaller exhibitors that were interested in playing the film were shut out from the one-week limited release, as Netflix preferred more popular theaters for Glass Onion. So, was the mere $13 million in theatrical revenue worth it? Well, one could suppose it’s a trade-off, given that the film is clearly topping the streamer’s charts. The question of whether Netflix mishandled this release can therefore be answered in two parts: 1) Its box office strategy arguably left millions on the table; 2) Its marketing strategy is certainly helping to both keep and add more subscribers. At the end of the day, Netflix is a streaming platform, no?

Future of the Knives Out Franchise

     T-Street

Netflix holds the film rights to at least one more film in the series. This past September, Johnson had confirmed his intention to make more. Later that month, Craig and Johnson separately said that they would continue making further films in the series, so long as they were both involved together. And then in November, Johnson said that he was preparing to work on writing the third film.

“While I was working on Glass Onion, I assumed that I would do something else next,” Johnson told A.Frame regarding a follow-up installment. “But honestly, coming out of the experience of making this movie, I’m so creatively jazzed by this form, and I’ve already started to dig in and try and figure out what the next one can be.”