During the current worldwide pandemic, movie studios are no longer providing box-office figures because theaters have been shut down around the nation and the world. Because we are less interested in the actual figures themselves and more interested in what people are watching over the weekends, each week we will dive into Most Streamed and Bestseller Lists on Fandango, iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu to pinpoint the weekend’s most watched films.
There was not a whole lot of movement this weekend on either the Netflix or the VOD charts, in part probably because of the launch of HBO Max, which basically flooded home viewers with a number of new options, like The Joker, Slumdog Millionaire, and one of last year’s best films, Ready or Not. Unfortunately, HBO Max does not yet break out its most popular movies, but it’s safe to say that a lot of people were probably rewatching Harry Potter films.
There was almost no movement on the VOD charts, which remain painfully stagnant. Scoob!, Trolls World Tour!, The Invisible Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Bad Boys for Life continue to dominate, as they have for most of the pandemic. The only wrinkle here is that The Invisible Man has jumped to number one on the iTunes rental charts, as it came available for the $5.99 rental price (instead of the $20 VOD price).
Meanwhile, there was one new entry at number three on the iTunes rental chart and number 11 on the Amazon Prime Video chart: The High Note, starring Tracee Ellis Ross as a superstar musician and Dakota Johnson as her overworked personal assistant. Critics note that the movie is lightweight but enjoyable, and it’s earned a 69 percent on the Tomatometer, while audiences like it even more (77 percent).
There’s not much shaking on Hulu, either, except that Rocketman, the Elton John biopic, is available as counter-programming to Bohemian Rhapsody, which is now on HBO Max. Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway’s very poorly reviewed The Hustle is also now available.
Finally, over on Netflix, Adam Sandler and/or Happy Madison hold the top three spots, which may be the truest sign of the apocalypse! Actually, the very good Uncut Gems, made available on Netflix earlier this week, holds the top spot, which makes sense. The 2011 romcom Just Go with It, with Jennifer Aniston makes less sense. Meanwhile, Happy Madison’s The Wrong Missy sits at number 3, and it might be the first movie since we began tracking at home viewing to be in the top 5 three weeks in a row on Netflix. Extraction was probably sampled more in its first two weekends, but it had fallen out of the top five by the third weekend of its release.
In any respect, last week’s top Netflix film, Lovebirds, fell to number four, while the original Despicable Me sits at number 10. I should note, too, that Matthew McConaughey’s 2011 film The Lincoln Lawyer is at number six, and it’s a very good legal thriller.
Next weekend will see the release of Judy and Punch starring Mia Wasikowska and Damon Herrimanon VOD, The Last Days of American Crime starring Edgar Ramirez on Netflix, and Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt on HBO Max.