1 day Ago By Tom Brueggemann
Oscar nominated films took the #8 (“A Complete Unknown”) and #10 ( “The Brutalist” ) slots in theatrical box office this weekend. It’s a different story with home viewing, as seen by the current charts at iTunes (listing by transactions) and Fandango (revenue). Of their 20 total positions, 12 are held by films with at least one nomination.
That covers nine different films, with three (“Wicked,” “The Substance,” and “ Nosferatu “) on both. Though the top three titles were big box offices hits with little or no need for awards to elevate their home interest. Just released “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (Paramount) is #1 at both iTunes and Fandango, while “Nosferatu,” also new, is second at Fandango, third at iTunes (after placing second most of its first week out).
Previous #1 for two weeks “Wicked” (Universal) is #2 at Fandango, #3 at iTunes. The same is not true at Netflix . “Emilia Pérez,” for which they have U.
S., Canada, and U.K.
rights, led with 13 nominations. It has yet to appear on their top 10 domestic movie list since it debuted. The greater appearance on home viewing charts is actually the new normal.
The timing of theatrical releases for maximizing most contenders often leads to opening by November, then holding over or expanding over Christmas, then adding VOD play by the time the nominations come out. Unusually, this year four of the Best Picture nominees came out in December (“The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown”) or apart from a one-week two-city qualifying run after (“I’m Still Here”), with two of these along with #11 “Wicked” combining for around $7.5 million in gross, with only “The Brutalist” among them expanding (“I’m Still Here,” only in its second week, is still only in 17 theaters).
“The Substance” (MUBI), already established as success theatrically and at home, is #4 at iTunes, #7 at Fandango (despite its $5.99 rental price making it more difficult to rank there). “Anora,” also at $5.
99, returned to iTunes at #6. Clearly boosted by its acting nominations, “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff) is back at #8 at iTunes (now also at $5.99).
Best Animated Feature nominees “Flow” (Janus/Sideshow) and “The Wild Robot” showed up at iTunes and #9 and #10 respectively. “ Back in Action ,” the original Netflix Jamie Foxx-Cameron Diaz action comedy repeated at #1 on their top 10. The rest of their list consists of studio library titles, other than “The Sand Castle.
” That film is yet another example of curiosities the streamer is making. It stars Nadine Labacki, best known as director of “Where Do We Go from Here?” and the Oscar nominated “Capernaum.” Though directed by Matty Brown, an American, its producers, location, and other cast members like Labacki are all Lebanese, all in Arabic.
The story involves a family spending an idyllic island holiday confronted with mysterious forces. Meantime, Netflix’s movie homepage, always led by promoting several available movies, continues to ignore the great Oscar showing for “Emilia Pérez.” They are spending heavily in printer and web media to promote the film, but it’s almost like they don’t want their subscribers to know about it.
Peacock meantime spotlights “The Wild Robot” and “Conclave,” while Max has a higher position for “A Different Man,” which received a writing nomination. That is the normal expected promotion, not what Netflix is doing. iTunes ranks films daily by number of transactions, while Fandango at Home lists by revenue.
The listings below are for Monday, January 27 (iTunes) and the week of January 20-26 (Fandango). The distributors listed are current rights owners. Prices for all titles are for lowest for either rental or download.
1. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount) – $19.99 2.
Wicked (Universal) – $19.99 3. Nosferatu (Focus) – $19.
99 4. The Substance (MUBI) – $5.99 5.
Anora (Neon) – $9.99 6. Conclave (Focus) – $5.
99 7. Heretic (A24) – $19.99 8.
The Apprentice (Briarcliff) – $5.99 9. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) – $9.
99 10. The Order (Vertical) – $9.99 1.
Sonic the Hedgehunter 3 (Paramount) – $19.99 2. Nosferatu (Focus) – $19.
99 3. Wicked (Universal) – $19.99 4.
Kraven the Hunter (Universal) – $19.99 5. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) – $5.
99 6. Gladiator II (Paramount) – $19.99 7.
The Substance (MUBI) – $5.99 8. Heretic (A24) – $19.
99 9. The Wild Robot (Univeral) – $5.99 10.
Flow (Janus/Sideshow) – $5.99 These are the most-viewed, current rankings on Netflix’s domestic daily chart on January 27. Originals include both Netflix-produced and acquired titles it initially presents in the U.
S. Netflix publishes its own worldwide weekly (and individual country) top 10s on Tuesdays based on time viewed , and usually includes films for which it doesn’t have domestic rights. 1.
Back in Action (Netflix original) 2. Scream VI (2023 theatrical release) 3. Despicable Me 2 (2013 theatrical release) 4.
Saturday Night (2024 theatrical release) 5. You Gotta Believe (2024 theatrical release) 6. The Sand Castle (Lebanese Netflix original) 7.
You Hurt My Feelings (2023 theatrical release) 8. Despicable Me (2010 theatrical release) 9. The Secret Life of Pets (2016 theatrical release) 10.
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015 theatrical release).
