Amazon debuts ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story’ in theaters

Yahoo Finance media reporter Allie Canal examines Amazon's latest box office debut as it releases the "Knives Out" sequel in theaters.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Well, on top of feasting, shopping, and watching sports, many Americans will be hitting the movie theater. And the big film of the weekend, "Knives Out, Glass Onion." Alexandra Canal is here, especially following the news that Amazon plans to invest $1 billion a year to produce theatrical releases. This took me by surprise, Allie.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: It took me by surprise, too. And I think it speaks to this larger narrative of more streaming and media companies embracing the theatrical window. We heard from IMAX CEO, Richard Gelfond, on this program not too long ago, saying that it seems to have been proven that films that want to turn a profit, it's much easier to do that if you lean on the box office, rather than just relying on streaming.

He cited "Top Gun, Maverick" as a prime example of this. That film went on to gross $1.5 million globally. And then on top of that, it became the number one on-demand service. So he argued that streaming didn't take away from those box office totals. In fact, the box office added to the total that we saw from the company. So I think we're going to start to see a world where streaming and box office can coincide.

And you're seeing that this weekend with "Knives Out, Glass Onion." This is something from Netflix. They are only releasing it in theaters at very limited locations for a week over the holiday weekend. But analysts that I've spoken with have said that this is the movie that could really turn the tide. Already, the presales are tracking really well compared to some of the other releases that we have coming out this weekend.

We have a Disney animated film. We have "Devotion." That could be the dark horse here. But "Glass Onion" seems to be the one that could break through, which is interesting since it has such a limited release. Netflix said that it would not be releasing the box office grosses for this, but again, analysts that I spoke with said we'll probably get some unofficial reporting there. And hopefully, if this is a huge success, Netflix could change its mind about that.

But when we think about the Thanksgiving box office, it's usually a really big weekend. But what we'll see this weekend should largely be on par with what we saw in 2021. The three-day forecast is set at 100 million plus. The five-day forecast, 140 million plus. Again, on par with 2021 where we saw 97 million over the three-day, and 142 million over the five-day. So a lot to look forward to this weekend.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Indeed. I liked the first "Knives Out," so maybe I could be convinced to going out and seeing this one. Allie Canal, thanks so much.