“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal) has grossed three times what “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate) has in theaters. But for home moviegoers, Keunu Reeves’ latest action sequel knocked the Nintendo game animated film out of all the No. 1 VOD charts. 1 after just one week.
Surprisingly, this wasn’t just on iTunes and Google Play (which rank by number of transactions), but also on Vudu, which counts by revenue. “Wick” is $19.99 standard to view, while “SMB” is $24.99 ($29.99 to own). This suggests that at that site at least he had a clear lead for the week. Meanwhile, “SMB” is unanimous number 2.
On Netflix, the success of recent Sony titles continues to be seen among their most watched films. The studio, lacking its own streaming site, now regularly sends its films there a few months after release. “Missing” continues at number 1, but this week’s surprise was the success of “The Son”.
This is the first film from Sony Pictures Classics, the studio’s niche specialty division, to show high viewing appeal. Currently number 3, it climbed up to second over the weekend. This is despite its failure to find much interest in theaters (a mere $450,000 gross) or critics (a bad 45 Metacritic score).
The reason? It stars Hugh Jackman, for whom this was considered a possible vehicle for an Oscar nomination. It was a sequel (although not a sequel) to ‘The Father’ which was also directed and co-written by Florian Zeller with considerable interest during the Covid lockdowns. The lack of awareness may have piqued interest, similar to other (often original) Netflix offerings that are elevated by big names in the cast.
The VOD charts varied little from last week. Aside from the first two, “Dungeons & Dragon: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount), now $5.99, and “Evil Dead Rise” (Warner Bros. Discovery), “Sisu” (Lionsgate), and “The Covenant” ( MGM), all $19.99, also tracked across the board.
The only other new title, after its third weekend, was “Love Again” (Sony). The $19.99 price tag elevated the low-grossing romantic comedy to Vudu. Guess it’s another film from the studio that will fare better on Netflix.
Also noteworthy on Netflix: Since Robert De Niro’s new comedy ‘All about my father’ fails to gain much success in theaters, his 2017 ‘Dirty Grandpa’ shows up in fourth place. That’s a higher position than the number 6 the new film saw in theaters.
Otherwise, international original films are big this week. Former #1 “The Mother” starring Jennifer Lopez is still #2, with films from Germany (“Blood & Gold”), Poland (“Mother’s Day”) and Mexico (“Where the Tracks End”) are also in the top ten. Thelast is played by Adriana Barraza, Oscar nominee for Babel.
iTunes and Google Play rank movies each day based on the number of transactions. These are the lists for Monday 29 May. The distributors listed are the current rights holders. Prices for all titles are per rental.
iTunes
1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $19.99
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $24.99
3. Dungeons & Dragon: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount) – $5.99
4. Creed III (MGM) – $5.99
5.65 (Sony) – $5.99
6. Content (Lionsgate) – $19.99
7. The Covenant (MGM) – $19.99
8. Avatar: The Water Way (Disney) – $19.99
9. Rise of the Evil Dead (WBD) – $19.99
10. Operation Fortuna: Russian War (Lionsgate) – $5.99
Google Play
1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $19.99
2. The Super Mario Bros Movie (Universal) – $24.99
3. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount) – $19.99
4. Rise of the Evil Dead (WBD) – $19.99
5.65 (Sony) – $5.99
6. Avatar: The Water Way (Disney) – $19.99
7. The Covenant (MGM) – $19.99
8. Content (Lionsgate) – $19.99
9. Creed III (MGM) – $5.99
10. The pope’s exorcist (Sony) – $19.99
Voodoo
Vudu ranks based on revenue, not transactions, elevating premium VOD titles. This list covers May 22-28.
1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $19.99
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $24.99
3. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WBD) – $5.99
4. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount) – $5.99
5. Content (Lionsgate) – $19.99
6. The Rise of the Evil Dead (WBD) – $19.99
7. The Covenant (MGM) – $19.99
8. Love again (Song) – $19.99
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania (Disney) – $5.99
10. The pope’s exorcist (Sony) – $19.99
Netflix movies
Most Viewed, current ranking on Netflix’s daily leaderboard on Monday, May 29. Originals include both Netflix-produced and acquired titles it initially presents in the United States. Netflix releases its weekly top 10 list on Tuesdays by watch time.
1. Missing (2023 theatrical release)
2. The Mother (Netflix Original)
3. The Son (2022 theatrical release)
4. Dirty Grandpa (2016 theatrical release)
5. Baby boss (2017 theatrical release)
6. Blood and Gold (German Netflix original from 2023)
7. A man named Otto (2022 theatrical release)
8. German (2012 theatrical release)
9. Mother’s Day (Netflix Polish Original 2023)
10. Where the tracks end (2023 Mexican Netflix Original)
