It turns out audiences really will turn out to see the origin story of a dog-killing villain, at least provided she’s played by Emma Stone. Honestly, anything from that woman (up to and including a flawless recitation of Steve Martin’sNSFW monologue fromPlanes, Trains & Automobiles) is pretty much always worth seeing, so maybeCruella’s viewership numbers aren’t that surprising. The interesting thing is,Cruella’s premiere onDisney Plusgot lower viewership numbers in the U.S. than the launch of the live-actionMulanremake last year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean what it sounds like it does.
According to Samba TV, a content recommendation and viewership tracking app for smart TVs,Cruellawas viewed in 686,000 U.S. households during its launch window of Memorial Day weekend. That’s a rather substantial 39% difference betweenthe much higher viewership numbers ofMulan, which found its way into 1.12 million households in that same period of time during its own release. Someone could easily look at those numbers and assume that the enthusiasm simply wasn’t there forCruellaas it was forMulan, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
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UnlikeMulan,Cruella’s release wasn’t limited to Disney Plus. It also opened in nearly 4,000 theaters across the U.S. and Canada, giving viewers a choice they didn’t have during the former’s premiere. So whileMulanclearly won the streaming battle between the two, earning $33.58 million during its opening weekend overCruella’s $20.57 million Disney Plus pull, it also had the disadvantage of only releasing in that one format.Cruellaearned $26.5 million at theaters alone, which gives it a combined $47.07 million take, putting it far in the lead.
This could be due to a number of factors, of course. Star power always plays a role, and whileMulanwas a highly-anticipated film long before its release, much of its cast was comprised of actors largely unknown to U.S. audiences. Compare that toCruella, which proudly touts the immensely popular Stone as its lead, and it’s easy to see how it might catch the eyes of certain potential viewers more readily than it would have otherwise. With that in mind, it’s interesting to think about how successfulKnives Out 2will be with its massive star-studded cast.
Aside from that, the Disney Plus release cost an extra $29.99 on top of the subscription fee viewers were already paying for the service. So in a time where some see it as acceptably safe to go out to public spaces again, it’s not difficult to see why many would choose the considerably more affordable movie theater experience over streaming. Of course, even if the prices were more comparable, it’s still likely that theaters would have seen at least a slight advantage over in-home viewership numbers. After over a year of staying inside (at least for those keeping safe for the sake of their own health and those around them), a lot of people are itching to get back out there.
So apparently releasing a highly-anticipated film in theaters just as people are starting to go outside again is actually a pretty solid business idea. Who knew? Regardless ofwhether or notCruellais actually a story worth telling, audiences have spoken, and they’ve voted for the dog killer. (Spoiler alert: she doesn’t actually kill any dogs in the movie. It’s a whole thing.)
Cruellais now playing in theaters and is available to stream through Disney Plus Premier Access.
