Netflix is known for buying films from major studios and then releasing them on their streaming service. Most of the time, the films they purchase are ones the studios don’t have confidence in.
For example, Paramount sold The Cloverfield Paradox and Annihilation to Netflix because they were worried the movies would fail at the box office. Instead of taking the risk, they decided to break even by letting Netflix purchase distribution rights.
Sony reportedly wanted in on this and tried to give Netflix their ‘Holmes and Watson‘ comedy film, but according to insiders, Netflix turned down the offer because the test screenings were super terrible.
This is pretty surprising because Holmes and Watson seems like the type of film that would perform well on Netflix. A silly comedy that someone can watch while cleaning their house or making dinner. That’s how Adam Sandler films survive (and thrive) on Netflix, so it’s odd to hear Netflix passed. Maybe the asking price was too high.
In any event, Holmes and Watson has made a little over $10 million at the box office against a budget of $42 million. Not a HUGE loss, but it’s still bad. The film has a D+ CinemaScore, which is absolutely terrible. It also has a 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Check out the trailer below…
