‘Sing 2’ Tops On Netflix As ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Plunges 57% On Disney+

While we don’t have hard data regarding PVOD, VOD, EST and physical media sales, I’d argue that Illumination’s Sing 2 was one of the most profitable theatrical releases in 2021. Heck, it may be even second behind Spider-Man: No Way Home (which earned $1.91 billion worldwide, followed by record-breaking initial electronic sell-through revenue). The Illumination sequel, released on Christmas weekend just days after Spider-Man 3 version 2.0, earned $405 million worldwide, including $163 million domestic, while existing concurrently on PVOD (and eventually the other post-theatrical revenue streams) from day 17 onward of a 135-day theatrical existence. And now, after scoring the fourth biggest SVOD premiere for any movie (so says Nielsen) in 2022 with 1.267 billion minutes viewed, it topped the movie charts in its second weekend/first-full week of Netflix availability with 1.257 billion minutes. In “real-time” (the Nielsen charts are a month behind), it is currently the second-most watched film on the service.

In a world of shifting theatrical windows, skittish theatrical distributors and changing expectations amid a prioritization of streaming over theatrical, the $80 million Sing 2 hit every rung on the way down (theaters, PVOD, EST, VOD, DVD, streaming, etc.) the revenue ladder with good-to-great results for each. It grossed about as much as The Secret Life of Pets 2 ($161 million/$430 million) in the last pre-Covid summer. It was, by far, the biggest “Covid era” animated release until Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru ($308 million domestic and around $665 million worldwide and counting). Considering Peacock earned exactly zero new paid subscribers in the last quarter and cost Comcast $467 million in losses, it’s a good thing that Comcast (smartly) did not center Peacock as the new center of their universe. But, once every service starts emphasizing its ad-specific tiers because subscriptions aren’t enough, Peacock may be at a (very relative) advantage.

Meanwhile, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took a sizable drop in its first whole Mon-Sun week on Disney+, earning 620 million minutes (-57%) compared to its boffo 1.43 billion-minute debut. So, yes, I would wager that the folks who waited until Disney+ to watch (or rewatch) the Sam Raimi-directed MCU sequel did so in the first ten days. Still, that $955 million in global worldwide grosses (around $475 million going back to Disney) plus related post-theatrical EST/VOD/DVD revenue has to count for something. A Doctor Strange sequel earned more – not counting Russia and China – than any “no Spider-Man and no Iron Man” MCU flick save for Black Panther. Yes, Captain Marvel earned $1.128 billion, including $154 million in China and $20 million in Russia. I’d be less concerned about whether audiences watch or rewatch it on the $8-per-month streaming platform. But maybe I’m just old-fashioned and out-of-touch.

The Man from Toronto, which was supposed to be an August theatrical before Sony leased the underwhelming Kevin Hart/Woody Harrelson action comedy to Netflix, earned 952 million minutes in its second week. That follows a 948 million-minute debut weekend. That translates to around 8.5 million complete viewings of the 112-minute Patrick Hughes-directed flick. Like most big Netflix originals, it played high (so sayeth Netflix’s global ratings with 52 million hours in weekend one and 62 million hours in the second frame). It descended after that (24 million hours in frame three). Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The film was supposed to star Jason Statham in Harrelson’s “comedically scary hitman” role. Ironically, an old Statham flick Wild Card (a loose remake of a Burt Reynolds actioner from 2015) placed ninth this weekend with 159 million minutes. In television news, Amazon and Chris Pratt’s The Terminal List nabbed 1.106 billion views in its debut weekend.