THB #266: Glass Onion Review & Analysis

I am finally post-COVID and immediately went to a screening, masked, on the last day in theaters of Netflix's Glass Onion.

Glass Onion is, as advertised, a delight.

It is a little overrated coming out of Toronto. There is not a moment in which this cast hits a single sour note... but none of the performances really offer surprises either. For me, the only performance really worthy of awards consideration is Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, who gets a chance to be even more fussy this time out. The first film in the franchise, Knives Out, featured a lot of actors playing against expectations. Here, none of the central 6 name actors are doing anything we haven't seen them do before... and are loved for doing it. But nothing new. Nothing surprising.

Still... easily the best non-drama made under the Netflix banner to date.

I'm trying to think of how I might further review the film, but there is no point. Not going to write up paragraphs of story structure because it won't make the film any more or less clear to anyone. It certainly won’t add to the fun. See the movie.

There is some "spend it!" stuff in the film, which will happen when a studio gives you a pot of money 4x or more than the actual cost of making the movie. Netflix spent it well on Rian Johnson, who does indulge a little, but basically makes the movie he wanted to make.

Truth is, I bet this same movie, with fewer effects and some lessened grandeur, could have been made for 30% or more less than they spent... which is not to say $150 million. The professed budget is $40 million. Rian could have taken this same script and made it, without some flashes, but without losing quality, for $25m or $30m. Johnson is not spending money to spend money. This is a movie about characters.

The tech credits are first rate. Music is fun and fitting. This is a bit more of a traditional, albeit still twisted, version of a movie murder mystery. The intimacies of a family in Knives Out required more focus and obscured the "here's the twist" feeling a bit more.

Bottom line, looking at those who "rottened" the film at Rotten Tomatoes... I think they were reacting more to the overhype than the movie. I can see not loving the film - any film, really - but "rotten" is too much for even the most critical eye here... unless you are reviewing what you thought the movie should have been in your view.

Very likable. My audience applauded at the end. Most audiences will, I suspect. There are many adults who will watch this more than once on Netflix next month.

Okay... now onto the analysis...

Today, as I chose a screening between the AMCs at The Grove and Century City, I was pleasantly surprised to find a higher percentage of seats pre-sold than anytime in the last week. Yes, there was a sold-out Q&A screening today. And the rooms aren't huge. But they have been pretty full all day, from the 11:30a show onwards at both mall theaters. Over the weekend, there were some open spaces. I can only assume that this means that a lot of people are willing to go the extra yard to see the movie - on a Tuesday - on a screen rather than seeing it first on their TVs.

This is the dichotomy... the success of this 1-week window is not proof that a 1-week stunt is a good idea or that Netflix is now serious about theatrical. It is proof that the first movie is loved and that the marketing for this one seemed as fun or more fun to an already interested audience. You can still screw up pre-chewed IP, but a lot of the marketing work has already been done.

And the rush of tickets sold in the final day of this release, even more so. It suggests that a full theatrical run would make a lot more sense. That people want to see this movie in a shared forum, even with wall-to-wall filled seats (nod to the people still trotting out COVID as an excuse for bad marketing of other films… stop it!).

Netflix has in Glass Onion its first film that is not only high profile, but is actually a for-real crowd pleaser… not just fans of this actor or that or of any showy action. As I've written before, the $15 million or so in gross, returning maybe $6 million to Netflix, is meaningless to Netflix. $300 million worldwide starts to upscale the company's bottom line.

But here is another thought that hit me hard as I enjoyed this film... will it really have the kind of effect on Netflix that, say, Squid Game did? I can see adults watching this film multiple times over the first few weeks and months. But let's assume that the film has a comparable huge audience on the Netflix platform. (2 hours vs 10 hours, obviously.) If Glass Onion is the same level hit as Squid Game, will it actually draw new subscriptions? If it does not, beyond just a few, how does one value it? People love streaming ratings... but they don't translate to cash money.

Glass Onion may be the best popular movie that Netflix has made, but if it makes the same splash as inferior, well-promoted product/junk, how do you really measure the quality? How much better than other Netflix movies can this do when the internal number is the only real number and the highs have already been so high?

The obvious frustration on this title is that Sarandos passed on doing anything close to a real release and he has never had the high-percentage win chance on anything else made for Netflix ever before. (That’s a “never” and an “ever” in one sentence!) So, will he ever take the chance? (Another “ever!”) And will he ever have a better chance at success or will some not-so-sure-fire-bet get the opportunity and be used as an excuse to keep the barn doors closed? (That’s 3 “evers” in one paragraph… must be serious!)

Even in the Nicole LaPorte article in The Ankler this week (link, sub needed)... a whole, very well reported piece on how arrogant Netflix can be at the negotiating table, the focus is on dealmaking and the abuse of producers, not the idea of how Netflix might change some of its rules to generate more revenue. Yet, the stubbornness of Ted Sarandos, insisting on half-ass theatrical stunts, seems pretty arrogant in this regard too. Especially when he has something he has never has before... a mostly guaranteed win.

Let me repeat myself... even if this 1-week stunt intensifies interest on Netflix when Glass Onion lands, is there room for the film to rise significantly above the tons of mediocre product they have already thrown onto the service? Does a 5% or 10% “record” really matter?

My guess is that there isn't a lot of room to grow for a film like this, no matter how well liked. Netflix has already maximized their platform skills. Only an added window can offer that kind of growth in a tangible way.

Until tomorrow…