'Glass Onion' Debuts With Big Numbers On Netflix, But Falls Short Of Top 5 Streaming Debuts

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" only dropped on Netflix a few days ago, but it's already drawing some big viewing numbers on the stream. Per The Hollywood Reporter, "Glass Onion" is now the sixth biggest film debut ever for the streaming service, drawing 82.1 million hours in viewing time in its first three days of its release.

Netflix officially released the "Knives Out" sequel on December 23 after a limited theatrical "sneak preview run" that took place in November. The film was shown in theaters for only one week from Nov. 23-29.

The figures came from Netflix internal streaming numbers, putting the film at 82.1 million viewing hours in the first three days of its release. It fell behind the streaming debuts of other Netflix original films, "The Gray Man" with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans at 88.55 million viewing hours and No. 4 in the rankings, and "The Unforgivable" with Sandra Bullock at 85.86 million viewing hours and No. 5 in the rankings.

Netflix's top streaming film debut remains "Red Notice" with 148.72 million viewing hours at No. 1. Rounding out the rest of the Top 5 are "Don't Look Up" with 111.03 million viewing hours at No. 2, and "The Adam Project" with 92.43 million viewing hours at No. 3.

As reported by The Blast, the streaming debut comes after Netflix made a first-of-its-kind distribution deal for "Knives Out" to have the film screen in AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, and Regal Cinemas. THR reports that the film brought in $13 million over the five-day holiday weekend, which is a strong gross at only 700 theaters in North America.

It's suspected that Netflix left millions of dollars on the table by not going for a wider theatrical release for the film. The first film in the series, "Knives Out," was a hit at the box office, grossing $165 million domestically and $312.8 million worldwide on a budget of only $40 million. That production budget is a fraction of most major blockbuster and the average Marvel Studios superhero flick, meaning "Knives Out" was highly profitable.

"Glass Onion" is also widely hailed by critics with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 93% audience score. It appears all the factors are there that the sequel could have equaled or surpassed the theatrical box office of the original.

Lionsgate released the original "Knives Out" in theaters and produced by Media Rights Capital. Variety reports that Netflix paid $450 million to acquire the rights to a second and third "Knives Out" movie.

At the very least, the strong performance of "Glass Onion" appears to set the stage for a third installment and Benoit Blanc mystery. The sequel is once again written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Daniel Craig, who once again reprises his role from "Knives Out" as Benoit Blanc, Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, and Jessica Henwick.

Netflix has not yet announced details of the next "Knives Out" film, but it would appear to be an easy slam dunk at this point. "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is available now on the streamer. While speaking to The Atlantic recently, Johnson also noted that he does not care for the second film having "A Knives Out Mystery" in its title, as he preferred it would simply be called "Glass Onion."