Netflix's 'Glass Onion' a bright spot as Thanksgiving box office disappoints

Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal discusses the Thanksgiving box office and whether consumers are shifting their behavior when it comes to streaming versus seeing movies in theaters.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Let's talk about another big tech company. Because in a surprising twist, Netflix had a strong showing at the domestic box office over the long Thanksgiving weekend. But is the movie business close to a full recovery? Hmm, Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal has the details on that. Allie, um-- no.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: No, no, and of course, the one streaming title is the surprise of the weekend. But if we take a step back and look at the overall box office, it really did disappoint. The box office totals grossed just under $93 million for the three-day, $133 million for the five-day. That's below expectations and, obviously, well below what we saw even last year when there weren't a lot of movies out, in addition to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

But if we zone in on probably the one good thing here, "Knives Out, Glass Onion," that was a limited box office release, only 600 theaters in total. Wasn't even available in every single state or city. That estimated between 12 million to 15 million in its five-day gross. Now that's based on a variety of reports Netflix has said that it will not be releasing the exact box office figures. We'll see if that changes. They could potentially change their mind, given the success we saw here. But again, that's not nothing. And that's pretty significant.

Now, there were a few other bright spots when we think about some of the other movies that were out this past weekend. "Black Panther, Wakanda Forever," this was in its third weekend, but it grossed an additional 64 million over the five-day, so one good thing for Disney. But then one bad thing for Disney with the animated film "Strange World," despite that A-list cast, only grossing $18.6 million. It's estimated to lose $100 million in its theatrical run. So not something that Disney wants to see right now in the midst of all of their problems.

And then "Devotion," "The Menu," "Bones and All," under $10 million. So, you know, this wasn't a great Thanksgiving for the box office. And it should be interesting to see, as we head into the Christmas season, as we head into the first quarter of 2023, how things could potentially change.

BRAD SMITH: What does this signal to us for some of the titles that have been able to go to theaters, but then also make their way directly to or to streaming in a more condensed time frame? You know, what does that signal to us about where the production house is and where the different streaming platforms may have to create even more of that kind of symbiosis going forward from here, knowing where the viewers are either staying or where they may be returning to some movie experience?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yeah, and it's an interesting question that I think all of the studios are grappling with. We heard last week that Amazon is going to spend $1 billion to produce 12 to 14 movies exclusively for theaters. That's based on a report from Bloomberg. So that could symbolize that maybe some of these streaming giants do want to see or experiment, at least, a little bit with the box office to see how that could add to profits.

But in the same vein, with something like a "Knives Out" sequel that Netflix spent $450 million on to secure the next two iterations of that franchise, it begs the question, shouldn't Netflix have done a longer theatrical run? Could you imagine if it was in the 4,000 plus theaters that the rest of those movies were in and not just the 600 million? Maybe that could have been something that Netflix needs to explore, especially as that company has also struggled with free cash flow and profitability. So I think we're going to get more answers and more experimentation in 2023 when it comes to all this.

JULIE HYMAN: I mean, bottom line, my couch is pretty darn comfortable.

BRAD SMITH: That's right.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: And that's the thing.

JULIE HYMAN: And I know that "Knives Out" is coming eventually. I know that "Strange World" is coming eventually, right? And-- I don't know.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: And I feel it with myself, too. I'm getting a little lazy when it comes to the movies that I want to go out to the theater and see. There's a ton that I'm down, oh, that I'm browsing on my TV on my couch. I'm saying, great, this movie is now available from the comfort of my own home. I'm going to watch it. And I think consumers are getting a little more picky. So if consumer behavior is changing, how does that change the way we think about the box office and the movies we produce?

JULIE HYMAN: Good questions. Allie, yeah.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Thanks very much.

JULIE HYMAN: Don't have the answers, but we will eventually.