Netflix made waves with their acquisition of Knives Out 2 & 3 for upwards of $400 million but now more details of the deal have emerged & it’s going to make Daniel Craig & Rian Johnson very rich.
First of all, the deal is actually a bit higher than the $400-450 million that was originally reported. “The Hollywood Reporter,” sources say the final number came out to $469 million. The deal will also see director/writer Rian Johnson, star Daniel Craig & producer Ram Bergman walking away with upwards of $100 million each. A steaming executive told “The Hollywood Reporter” “Yes, it’s overpaying but Netflix is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. It takes a proven theatrical commodity off the board and puts it in their pocket. And it’s another way they re-educate audiences to think of streaming and their company above a studio.” There are two stipulations in the deal: Daniel Craig HAS to star in the sequels & they must have a budget that at least matches the original film. The first film landed in the $40 million range with an all-star ensemble cast so I’m sure they can accomplish that again. Rian Johnson will also have complete creative control which means no notes coming in from Netflix.
So why streaming? The first film was acquired in a single picture deal who then distributed the movie through Lionsgate. Rian Johnson & Ram Bergman still controlled the rights to the franchise & when they shopped the sequels earlier this year, they weren’t sure of the “near-term viability of theatrical releasing” due to the pandemic. This started a bidding war with streamers that also included Apple & Amazon. Any other year, MRC & Lionsgate would’ve happily obtained the sequels but COVID-19 has taught us moviegoing & theatrical releases are very fragile & streaming is a large part of the future, especially with mid-tier budget films like this one.
