The recent large-budget effort from the Russo Brothers,The Gray Man, is now the 6th most viewed film inNetflix’s history and still climbing. However, with its massive $200 million budget, it’s not clear if the movie was successful enough.
Netflixinvested record amounts inThe Gray Man, and despite mixed reviews, the film seems to have been a hit for the streamer. In fact,The Gray Manhas already earned a sequeland spinoff, indicating Netflix is more than pleased with its investment.
RELATED:The Gray Man Review
Now, Netflix has announced thatThe Gray Manis currently in 6th place for the largest amount of hours viewed in the first 28 days for any English-language film on Netflix. It has been watched for nearly 224 million hours so far, placing it just behind 2020’s Chris Hemsworth action vehicleExtraction, which received 231 million hours. With 10 days left in its run,The Gray Manwill most likely passExtractionandThe Adam Project, with 233 million views, to rest in 4th place. It is less likely, but still conceivable, that it might evensurpass Sandra Bullock’sBird Box( 282 million). However, 2nd place’sDon’' Look Up(360 million) and 1st place championRed Notice(364 million) will remain unchanged.
Netflix has for years been chasing the idea of a streaming blockbuster sensation, with mixed success. WhileThe Gray Manhas proven to be one of Netflix’s more successful films—certainly more so than this year’s action thrillerInterceptor—it still remains unclear if the endeavor was worth it. The film was made on a massive budget of $200 million, shocking for a non-theatrical feature, but not too surprising given the names attached. It is directed by the Russo brothers (Captain America: Civil War,Avengers: Endgame) andstars Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas, all of which likely required a sizeable salary. However, with Netflix’s continued decline in subscription numbers, it is not at all clear thatThe Gray Manmade the streaming service much money, although the numbers for this quarter might reveal more.
During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, streaming services assumed a much larger role in the life of most consumers. However, now that theater attendance has largely recovered, the streamer’s bloated budgets will no longer be financially sustainable. As the market returns to pre-pandemic levels, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify the level of output they’ve maintained over the past few years. For this reason, many services are reducing their output. The most notable is HBO Max, which received backlash last week for slashing several productions,including the DC filmBatgirl. However, as viewers return to theaters, spending hundreds of millions on streaming-only content is no longer a viable business plan.
