Knives Out 2 Is Headed To Theaters
Knives Out 2 will officially hit movie theaters in November before heading to Netflix in December.
In a historic agreement, three major movie chains have agreed to show Knives Out 2 on the big screen prior to the movie’s release on Netflix, according to The Hollywood Reporter. AMC, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark have all agreed to screen Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story for one week in November 2022. The movie will then be released on Netflix in December 2022.
This is significant for a few reasons. A theatrical release will put Knives Out 2 in contention for awards season, and it also represents a shift in sentiment from theaters about streaming movies. It is considered risky for theaters to open a movie that will be viewable in homes so quickly because that shortens the amount of time the movie can pull viewers into the theaters to see it.
However, in a post-pandemic world, theaters are now experiencing a lack of products for viewers, and streaming productions help fill this gap. The amount of time a movie is in theaters has shortened in the post-Covid economy, with some predictions that the industry will not fully recover until 2025. While many streaming movies have seen theatrical releases, this shortened window may see more of them hitting the theaters.
Marketing streaming movies for theatrical release has been one of the biggest challenges because it is different than marketing a movie’s drop into a streaming service’s library. To compete with other films, most studios are willing to spend millions, while streamers are not. Netflix is apparently committing to the task of promoting the Thanksgiving week release of Knives Out 2, but a large part of that is linked to the limited release of the film.
Most studio movies are shown in thousands of theaters all over the world, but Knives Out 2 is only coming to 600 screens from November 23-29. This is considered a special preview that heralds the movie’s December 23 drop on Netflix. The preview will be worldwide, with a few smaller theaters joining the three giants in showing the film.
Knives Out 2 stars Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, a hero that evokes an air Agatha Christie would have written about, which is exactly what director and writer Rian Johnson aiming for. The movie takes Benoit Blanc on another adventure with a completely new cast of characters that have been described as “just so much more colorful” by an enthusiastic cast. It is “a Knives Out story,” as the title implies, not an actual sequel.
Netflix spent $469 million acquiring the rights to distribute Knives Out 2, as well as another movie in the emerging franchise. This means that even after Glass Onion, we can expect at least one more Benoit Blanc mystery. Netflix also fought for the title, outbidding Lionsgate for the rights.
Rian Johnson, who is known for some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad as well as Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, has been clamoring for his movie to have a theatrical release. “I’m over the moon that Netflix has worked with AMC, Regal, and Cinemark to get Glass Onion in theaters for this one-of-a-kind sneak preview,” he admitted.
So, whodunit in Knives Out 2? Lucky fans will get a preview in November and see if it was Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Jessica Henwick, or another of the ensemble cast of suspects in this closed-door mystery. Everyone else will have to wait until December 23 to see it on Netflix.
