Netflix releases streaming numbers for Rebel Moon
Netflix releases streaming numbers for Rebel Moon – Netflix has officially released the streaming numbers for Rebel Moon, and some people will be very happy, while others will be very upset.
By Megan Sauer
Rebel Moon has now been out for about 2 weeks, and Netflix has been giving weekly updates on their streaming numbers. An incredibly refreshing thing to see for those of us who have still been trying to find out the official viewership numbers for the SNY cut.
So today, let’s break it down and compare it to other Netflix releases to see if Rebel Moon has been a success or a failure.
In week one of Rebel Moon’s release, it was Netflix’s number one film worldwide. In just one week, Rebel Moon earned 23.9 million views.
Then, in week two, it kept its first-place honor, and Child of Fire gained an extra 34 million views. Not 34 million views in total, but in week 1, it had 23.9 million views, and then in week two, it had an additional 34 million views.
So, in the second week of release, the movie not only met its first week’s viewing figures but also exceeded it by 10.1 million views. Meaning, in just 12 days of release, the movie has earned 57.9 million views. Now, that is fantastic.
Obviously, it’s not record-breaking numbers, and it’s not in the top 10 most viewed Netflix originals, but it is getting close. The point is, people are watching the movie.
A lot of people are watching the movie, to the point that it is actually earning more views in its second week than its first.
Now, I’m no Netflix viewership expert, but I would be very happy if that 57.9 million views was the final number.
But by the looks of it, we could be looking at at least another 20 million views in week three.
To be in the top 10 most viewed Netflix originals, Rebel Moon has to earn another 77 million views, which would help it overtake Extraction 2 starring Chris Hemsworth.
That would be an amazing achievement, but I’m not sure if it will be able to reach it. Do you think Rebel Moon can do it? Let me know in the comments below.
Now, according to Variety, the SNY Cut was the fourth most-streamed movie of 2021, but we have no official statistics for that, as Warner Bros. keeps that information strangely private. But seeing what Rebel Moon managed to make in just 12 days of release, to me, implies the SNY cut was viewed by millions and millions of people. I’m talking about the 100 million plus mark.
The movie crashed HBO Max services around the world, so there is no way the SNY cut was not a success for Warner Bros., especially now we know how many times Rebel Moon has been viewed around the world.
So, back to Rebel Moon. 58 million views in just 12 days is a big success for Netflix. Specifically, the rise in week 2. The Observer stated that Netflix Global Film Chief Scott Stuber revealed that his team wants big-budget films to draw an audience of more than 70 million viewers.
So, Rebel Moon only being 12 million views away from that after just 2 weeks is a great start.
Not only that, but according to Nielsen data, the average streaming exclusive film loses 63% viewership per day from week 1 to week 2. So, for Rebel Moon to actually increase in viewership from week 1 to week 2 shows that it has got good legs to stand on. It’s not crumbling after just one week.
Not only that, but The Observer also states from Nielsen’s data that a Netflix original that manages to open to at least 25 million hours watched in their first 2 weeks of availability is generally considered to be hits.
Surpassing 30 million hours in 2 weeks is a concrete victory, and Rebel Moon, in its first week alone, managed to earn 54.1 million hours. And in week 2, it hit 77 million hours. So, in just 2 weeks, Rebel Moon had 131.8 million hours worth of viewership.
So, it was far more than just a concrete hit. This is a big success for the streaming platform.
Already, Netflix’s main goal is keeping subscribers subscribed for as long as possible and giving an incentive to those who haven’t subscribed yet.
Rebel Moon has clearly kept subscribers on their streaming platform. And this is just part one. We have part two and two director’s cuts to keep customers on the streaming platform for longer.
I think Netflix will be very excited to see what else Rebel Moon can do for their streaming service.
We have to remember that this is a brand new franchise being built. Yes, it does take inspiration from many other big franchises, but most franchises do. Marvel and DC have been copying characters for years.
Star Wars was inspired by many old western and samurai movies, and even Harry Potter took a lot of inspiration from Star Wars. The point being Rebel Moon isn’t the first to do it, but because it was made by Snyder, many people are trying to make it out that it is a bad thing that has happened for the first time.
It was literally pitched as a Star Wars trilogy but was fortunately rejected by Disney. So then he had to change a lot of things to make it its own thing. So, of course, it’s going to have similarities, but it also has a lot of differences.
But back to the point, Rebel Moon is a brand new IP with no major actor or actress. The actors are very good, but they don’t have the pull factor that someone like a Chris Hemsworth would.
So for the movie to do this well with a smaller cast and being a brand new franchise is a very big success.
It doesn’t have to break into the top 10 or be right up there to be classed as a success. Being in the top 10 is a major achievement. So for the first movie in this brand new franchise to even be anywhere close to that is fantastic news.
We will just have to see how part two does. If that does well too, then we know audiences are engaged and invested in it. If it drops massively, then we can see that unfortunately part one wasn’t enough to keep an audience for the long term. But I don’t think that will happen.
I may be overly optimistic, but I think clearly by these numbers, the general audience is interested in it. There is always a bedding in period with brand new franchises.
It’s very rare nowadays that the majority of people fall in love with a brand new franchise straight away. So it will take time, but clearly it is of interest to millions of people.
Look at Star Wars, compare its fan base from the first movie to the third. It probably tripled in size and continued to grow as time went on. So, I do think Rebel Moon will grow into a popular franchise.
It will take time, but I think audiences are going to appreciate a franchise that feels refreshing and a bit more grown-up. I’m not saying it’s going to challenge Star Wars at the top or saying it’s better than Star Wars because for me, it’s not right now. It’s nowhere near that.
But I’m saying franchises take time to build up popularity. Expecting it to be a huge hit straight away would be like the MCU expecting Iron Man 1 to hit a billion dollars just because DC did with The Dark Knight.
That is a really unrealistic expectation to have because these things take time.
So, like I said, I’m not saying Rebel Moon is going to become the next Star Wars or be as big as the Star Wars franchise, but it does have potential.
I think audiences may want to find something new and refreshing. Star Wars, Marvel, and DC have been feeling quite stale for a while now. So, I think a lot of people are looking for something else to be invested in, and hopefully, Rebel Moon can become that as the story expands.
Hopefully, the fan base will too. Now, according to Deadline, the movie actually managed to rack up 29 million views in the first week and 34 million views in the second week, totaling 63 million views rather than Netflix’s stated 58 million views.
Now, personally, I’d prefer to trust the official source over a third party like Deadline. However, some are saying these are the revised viewership numbers, as in, after recalculating the viewership numbers, there were actually more views than previously counted.
I don’t really believe that unless Netflix are just the numbers themselves.
So, as of right now, I am going to believe Netflix’s official statistics that they release each week. Zack Snyder’s other Netflix movie, Army of the Dead, was watched by 75 million households in 28 days and, at the time, was jointed 10th in the most-viewed originals on the platform.
So, Rebel Moon only needs 17 million more views in just over 2 weeks to overtake his previous Netflix film, which was also classed as a success.
So even if the movie drops in week three back to a number closer to its first week, then it would have still overtaken Army of the Dead, emphasizing even more that this film was a success. But that is all for today’s video.