'The Cloverfield Paradox' Drew Five Million Netflix Viewers In Its First Seven Days

The Cloverfield Paradox reportedly drew in five million viewers in its first week after the surprise Netflix release of the science-fiction sequel.

That's light years away from Netflix's biggest success yet, Bright, which garnered 11 million U.S. viewers in its first three days of release.

Nielsen data estimates that The Cloverfield Paradox pulled in 2.8 million U.S. viewers in the first three days, growing to an estimated five million over a seven-day period, according to Variety.

Paramount sold The Cloverfield Paradox to Netflix in a reported $50 million deal, presumably fearing a weak box office performance. So what would 5 million viewers equate to in box office terms? That would be the rough equivalent of $45 million at the box office, provided audience members all bought tickets.

Paramount certainly made back its money, with that $50 million deal covering the film's $40 million-plus production budget — which soared due to extended reshoots and post-production tweaks.

However, there's no question that these numbers are a bit middling. Netflix's unprecedented decision to drop a surprise trailer during the Super Bowl followed by a surprise release of the film in the very same night was considered a game-changer. Was this the future of film releases? Netflix spent only $5 million in marketing costs — far less than the $20-$30 million Paramount would have had to shell out for theatrical marketing. If every big-budget thriller that had an uncertain box office guarantee was released this way, it would be a huge success for studios.

But...was it? The Cloverfield Paradox didn't get nearly the same numbers that Bright drew in, which set records with 11 million views in its first three days. It could be blamed on The Cloverfield Paradox's stunningly bad reviews — the film boasts a measly 18% on Rotten Tomatoes — though that didn't stop the 27% Bright from becoming Netflix's highest-viewed original film ever. /Film's Chris Evangelista called it a "major misfire" in his review, saying that it "ultimately feels like a huge middle finger to an audience that wants nothing more than to see this franchise succeed."

The Cloverfield Paradox is directed by Julius Onah and stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, and Chris O'Dowd, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Bruhl, and Zhang Ziyi. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

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