Rian Johnson Is Bummed That Netflix Didn’t Keep ‘Glass Onion’ In Theaters Longer

Have the cinephiles in your life been needlessly complaining about Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery having a limited theatrical release? How many more times can you hear someone make fun of Netflix for “losing money” that they never planned to make?

All I’m saying is that this seemed to be a very calculated move from the streamer to keep people tuned in over the holidays, which worked, given that the movie has been trending in the Top 10 list since its premiere, and to accumulate new subscribers.

Nevertheless, people have opinions on the movie’s release model which saw it receiving a one-week theatrical run before premiering December 23 on Netflix.

The general consensus seems to be divided between “this is a win for Netflix” and “this is a movie that deserves to be seen in theaters,” and director Rian Johnson has weighed in on the narrative.

“I’d love it to be [in theaters] longer; I’d love it to be in more theaters. But also, I appreciate that Netflix has done this, because this was a huge effort on their part, and the theater chains, to reach across the aisle and make this happen,” said Johnson in an interview with The Atlantic.

Johnson went on to add, “I’m hoping it does really well so we can demonstrate that they can complement each other.”

The Knives Out sequel isn’t the first time the streamer has released an original title in theaters, as it is often a requirement to be considered for awards consideration. This rule was reinstated by The Academy in 2021 for the Oscars, after the organization loosed requirements in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In the past, Netflix has spearheaded limited theatrical releases for The Irishman, The Power of the Dog, and Bo Burnham’s Inside, all of which went on to be nominated for major awards. The latter swept the Emmys with three wins, The Power of the Dog got a win for best director (for Jane Campion) and The Irishman was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning none.

The director continued to explain why Glass Onion would have benefitted from a longer theatrical run; as Harry Styles would say, “It’s a movie that feels like a movie. It feels like a real ‘go to the theater’ type of movie.”

Johnson told The Atlantic, “It’s not about the size of the picture, or the sound, or the sanctity of the space, or the magic of cinema, or whatever the fuck.” He added, “It’s about having a crowd of people around you laughing and reacting. Because these movies are engineered for that.”

The first Knives Out movie, which Johnson wrote and directed (much like Glass Onion) earned $312.9 million of its $40 million budget in the box office from a theatrical release by Lionsgate. After its success, Netflix paid $469 million for the rights to two standalone sequels, per The Hollywood Reporter.

The outlet stated that the deal’s stipulations included Johnson maintaining creative control, a budget of at least $40 million for each movie, and Daniel Craig starring in both movies, presumably reprising his role as Benoit Blanc.

Given the raging success of the first movie, Johnson didn’t have to accept the deal, especially since Lionsgate had already greenlit a sequel; however, the deal allowed him and Craig to reportedly walk away with an upward of $100 million each.