Knives Out hit an impressive milestone this weekend, bringing in over $200 million worldwide in box office sales. The whodunit crime drama follows caretaker Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas) as she and the members of the wealthy Thrombey family, played by Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon and Don Johnson, are interviewed by renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to solve the murder, formerly ruled a suicide, of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). While Knives Out seems like a classic murder mystery at face value, the film provides that plus a series of twists and turns which lends commentary on racism and classism while leaving audiences at the edge of their seats.
Knives Out isn’t the first major success for writer-director Rian Johnson. Johnson has also written and directed Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Looper and Brick. Johnson’s precise casting, brilliant screenplay, and attention to detail on set can be accredited as a major component of the film’s success. Johnson’s behind-the-scenes audio commentary for Knives Out stands as proof that every creative choice for Knives Out was made with precision.
Variety reported the exact total of Knives Out international box office sales has reached $214.6 million since opening on Thanksgiving weekend. Out of that worldwide chunk, $110 million of the sales were generated domestically in North America, and $16 million of the national sum was accrued during the holidays as Knives Out was apparently a popular film for families without children. The next largest box office sales came from China, bringing in $27.9 million. The United Kingdom provided $13.7 million in sales, then followed by Australia with $7.4 million, France with $6.2 million, and lastly Russia with $5.1 million. With a $40 million budget, the film has made a massive profit of $174.6 million and counting. Knives Out can expect its profits to increase exponentially after releasing in new markets, Germany and Japan, in January.
Lionsgate’s motion picture co-chairman Joe Drake also addressed the new trend of streaming, especially when it comes to bold films like Knives Out. While films like Marriage Story, The Irishman, and Dolemite is My Name have opted to stream with a limited release in theaters or have no theatrical release at all, Drake had enough faith in Johnson’s creative talents and Lionsgate’s ability to devise an experience which brings in movie-goers to solely release the film in theaters.
“On paper, you could say that [‘Knives Out’] could live on a streaming service. But when you take the screenplay Rian Johnson wrote and the cast he put together, you deliver the kind of experience which is dramatic, thrilling, really funny and really suspenseful. It hits all those beats that make for the theatrical ride…We’re focusing on theatrical audiences, looking at genres and concepts for a combination of what we believe can create urgency to see on a Friday night. There’s data and art to making creative decisions.”
Knives Out is proof hope is not lost for original content in the film industry. TV streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video have recently been the hubs for writers to present new works. While the creative geniuses are flocking to these networks and services, the film industry is left with producers who are pushing franchise films, remakes, and adaptions in order to stay afloat. However, the success of Knives Out affirms original movies can still make a profit and are worth investing in.
Source: Variety