G20 and The Accountant 2 are the latest films to demonstrate action cinema is the lifeblood of movie streaming. More here.
A couple of interesting stories have popped up over the last week or so to do with regards viewing numbers of some mid-budget action films.
On the one hand, there’s G20, directed by Patricia Riggen. Must admit, enjoyed this, particularly for the way that Hollywood decided to describe cryptocurrency. It’s been revealed in the last week that it’s become one of the ten most watched action movies on the Prime Video service. 50 million people have given the Viola Davis-headlined movie a go, a film that didn’t go inside a cinema and went straight to streaming.
Separately, and also on the Amazon MGM slate, The Accountant 2 did go inside a cinema. Starring Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal, the movie is disappointingly light on Microsoft Excel tips, and it took in just over $100m at the box office around the world. But it’s on Amazon’s Prime service where it’s really hit, with – inside 28 days – it becoming Amazon’s second most watched film of all time.
Presumably this relates to Amazon originals, and a sporting guess would suggest that the Road House remake is the movie at the top of its home-grown chart (Road House 2 is currently on the way.) But still, at a point where it seems quite tricky outside of certain franchises to get an action movie hit, it seems that Netflix and Prime Video are happy to bathe in them. Notably on Netflix, Red Notice – an action movie with not great action in it – remains one of its own most-watched films of all time.
Streaming services have – and Ryan noted this when talking about Heads Of State – become a home for new action cinema now. The international language of smacking seven shades out of each other works well around the world, and those missing the 1980s era of video shops stuffed with three star action films? Well, turns out there’s an heir apparent to that…
