The Netflix film Don't Look Up has become the streaming platform's 3rd most viewed film since it debuted eleven days ago. Don't Look Up was written and directed by Adam McKay, whose list of works include Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Big Short, and Vice. It also features a star-studded cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Jonah Hill, and Timothée Chalamet.
Don't Look Up is a satire about two astronomers, portrayed by DiCaprio and Lawrence, who try to warn the world of a comet that will crash on Earth and destroy the planet. However, no one believes them, even though all they have to do to know the truth is look up in the sky and see it for themselves. Don't Look Up received mixed reactions from critics who have been divided by the film's message. Some critics found the film to be a sharp, biting satire on science denial, while others found the message to be too in-your-face. It currently holds a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Regardless of the mixed reactions, Don't Look Up has become one of the streaming giant's most viewed films. A graph posted by Netflix reveals Don't Look Up is already the streamer's third most-watched English language film. Netflix reports that people have clocked over 263 million watch hours watching the latest satire since its release on the streaming platform 11 days ago.
In only eleven days, Don't Look Up has beaten other Netflix films in viewing hours like The Irishman and Extraction. The two films above Don't Look Up are Red Notice and Bird Box, with over 282 million and 364 million hours. Red Notice benefitted from its A-list cast, including Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Gal Gadot. The Sandra Bullock-led Bird Box was adapted from a well-known novel and became a viral social media challenge.
Like Bird Box and Red Notice, Don't Look Up benefits from its star-studded cast as well as solid word of mouth. However, the success of this film may give a look into the future of mid-budget films. While Don't Look Up debuted on Netflix, Spider-Man: No Way Home dominated the box office (and still is). Other movies like Nightmare Alley, American Underdog, and The Matrix Resurrections have not seen Spider-Man's popularity. If it had been released as a theatrical tentpole, Don't Look Up could have been a box office bomb that audiences quickly forgot. However, thanks to streaming sites like Netflix, films like Don't Look Up are seen by a wider audience thanks to the convenience of at-home streaming. If anything, Don't Look Up shows that these types of films can survive but may have better success at home than at the theater.
Source: Netflix
