Netflix Users Are Obsessed With A Mind-Bending 2019 Sci-Fi Thriller
Netflix is once again turning a former theatrical flop into a streaming hit. 2019's "Don't Let Go," which stars Oscar nominee David Oyelowo ("Selma") and Storm Reid ("A Wrinkle in Time"), has found its audience more than five years after it failed to catch on during its original release. This is an interesting case where success may well be better late than never.
"Don't Let Go" has been rising through Netflix's top 10 most-watched movies list as of late and is currently sitting at number four on the streamer's charts, per FlixPatrol. It's even trending above other Netflix originals such as "Kinda Pregnant" and "Honeymoon Crasher." Not bad for a movie with a $5 million budget that made only $5 million at the box office in late summer 2019. But that's the power of Netflix, which generates more revenue than the entire global box office combined.
For those who may not be familiar, the film was written and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes. It centers on detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo), who gets a surprising phone call from his recently murdered niece Ashley (Storm Reid). The pair then have to work together, operating at different points in time, so that they can solve her murder before it happens.
The sci-fi/thriller was produced by Blumhouse, the studio known best for horror movies like "Get Out" and "The Purge." Blumhouse tends to make low-cost films that have a high chance at turning a profit. This one was released in part by BH Tilt, a now-defunct distribution label that saw the studio trying to get into that part of the business. At the time, that distribution gamble didn't serve this movie particularly well. In the world of streaming though, old things can become new again.
Don't Let Go is finding its audience years later
One of the benefits of the Blumhouse model is that a lower investment means even when a movie loses money, those losses aren't severe. By contrast, a film like "The Dark Tower," which also recently found an audience on Netflix years after flopping in theaters, was far more expensive. Even with streaming success and whatever revenue that brings, making up the difference is going to be tough. On the flip side, "Don't Let Go" cost just $5 million with a minimal marketing spend. VOD and now streaming can absolutely get a movie like this out of the red.
"With bursts of punishing violence that eventually border on cruelty, 'Relive' is a formulaic, surprisingly bleak thriller that may have worked better as a TV series," /Film's Ben Pearson wrote in his review of the film in 2019 (back when it was titled "Relive"). He wasn't alone; critics were pretty mixed on the film in its day, as it currently boasts a 43% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Be that as it may, audiences are clearly enjoying it. To Ben's point though, it does seem to be thriving on the small screen when it failed in theaters. It's always odd to see how certain movies succeed in the streaming landscape while others don't. A company like Netflix can spend a fortune on a would-be blockbuster that's here today, gone tomorrow. Yet, a small thriller like this, one that could have run the risk of being lost to time, is getting its day in court.
You can also grab "Don't Let Go" on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.