Sony as a studio continues on a roll. This weekend “Uncharted” took in a stronger than expected $44 million in U.S./Canada theaters. Impressive as that was, it also is critical as the highest opening gross for a non-franchise or sequel release in over two years and it comes, like “Afterlife,” from a studio that has no direct streaming platform. That makes its reliance on traditional strategies — first in theaters, then PVOD at a reduced but still sufficient six-week period, later reduced price — before streaming critical. And they seem to be succeeding (“Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Afterlife,” Spider-Man: No Way Home” above all, and now “Uncharted”) is the most important recent event in the evolving theater rebound story that is still unsettled.
“Afterlife” held off the just-released “The King’s Man” (Disney/$19.99). The comedy prequel came in #2 at all three sites, while simultaneously streaming on Hulu and HBO Max. That’s two months after it opened in theaters to a disappointing domestic take of $37 million. Of note, Vudu, which ranks by money spent on a title rather than the volume of response, in positioning “Afterlife” as #1 shows that it had more than three times as much action over the last week. Little else changed this week. “Dune” (Warner Bros./$5.99), “Sing 2” (Universal/$24.99), and “Encanto” (Disney/$5.99) complete the list of titles placing three times. “House of Gucci” (United Artists/$19.99) made two of them in its weaker than expected performance more than ten weeks after opening in theaters. “Old Henry” (Shout/$0.99), also now on Hulu, returns to iTunes at a bargain price after it earlier had a VOD run much more prominent than its theatrical success. Netflix Netflix had its typically big turnover this week. New at #1 is its “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” sequel. Just behind are two recent mid-level theatrical releases from a few years ago: Michael Mann’s “Blackhat” with Chris Hemsworth, and Melissa McCarthy in “St. Vincent” are the kind of audience-friendly films most subscribers haven’t seen and may even think are originals. They are currently #2 and 3, respectively.
Last week, Netflix reported that Oscar nominations had boosted “The Power of the Dog” and, to a lesser extent, “Don’t Look Up” — both originals for the streamer — worldwide. “Power,” they said, was #10 worldwide. A glance at their individual country charts showed it had little presence among the leaders in most countries (the U.K. had it at #10), but this does give a bit more evidence beyond the non-reappearance of any of their awards contenders in the U.S. to this point. iTunes and Google Play rank films daily by number of transactions. These are the listings for February 21. Distributors listed are current rights owners.
iTunes
- Ghostbusters Afterlife (Sony) – $5.99
- The King’s Man (Disney) – $19.99
- Dune (Warner Bros.) – $5.99
- Old Henry (Shout) – $0.99
- House of Gucci (United Artists) – $19.99
- No Time to Die (United Artists) – $5.99
- Sing 2 (Universal) – $24.99
- Encanto (Disney) – $5.99
- Kingsman: The Secret Service (Disney) – $3.99
- Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Disney) – $3.99
Google Play
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Sony) – $5.99
- The King’s Man (Disney) – $19.99
- Dune (Warner Bros.) – $5.99
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sony) – $5.99
- No Time to Die (United Artists) – $5.99
- Free Guy (Disney) – $3.99
- Sing 2 (Universal) – $24.99
- Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (Sony) – $5.99
- Spider-Man: Far from Home (Sony) – $3.99
- Encanto (Disney) – $5.99
Vudu
Vudu ranks by revenue, not transactions, which elevates Premium VOD titles. This list covers February 14-20.
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Sony) – $5.99
- The King’s Man (Disney) – $19.99
- Sing 2 (Universal) – $24.99
- American Underdog (Lionsgate) – $19.99
- Encanto (Disney) – $5.99
- Eternals (Disney) – $5.99
- Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (Sony) – $5.99
- House of Gucci (United Artists) – $19.99
- Dune (Warner Bros.) – $5.99
- Redeeming Love (Universal) – $19.99
Netflix Movies
Most viewed, current ranking on Netflix’s daily chart on Monday, February 21; originals include both Netflix-produced and -acquired titles they initially presented in the U.S. Netflix publishes its own weekly top ten on Tuesdays based on time viewed.
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022 Netflix original)
- Blackhat (2015 theatrical release)
- St. Vincent (2014 theatrical release)
- Despicable Me 2 (2013 theatrical release)
- The Tinder Swindler (2022 Netflix original documentary)
- Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022 Netflix original documentary)
- Fistful of Vengeance (2022 Netflix original)
- Despicable Me (2010 theatrical release)
- Last Man Down (2021 VOD release)
- Tall Girl 2 (2022 Netflix original) Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
