The Irishman's Netflix debut wasn't as strong as Bird Box's, according to Nielsen
Martin Scorsese's critically-acclaimed Oscar contender The Irishman debuted to strong numbers on Netflix, according to Nielsen. But evidently, it couldn't quite take down Bird Box.
Nielsen said Friday that in its first five days of release, The Irishman drew an average U.S. audience of 13.2 million viewers, per The Hollywood Reporter. The Reporter notes that this number, though impressive, is smaller than the average number of viewers who watched Bird Box, the post-apocalyptic Sandra Bullock movie that became an unexpected phenomenon last December, over its first five days: 16.9 million.
These numbers represent the film's average-minute audience, which indicates the "average number of viewers calculated based on a movie's total runtime," Variety reports. The Irishman beat El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie's average-minute audience of 8.2 million, though. The figures don't account for viewership outside of the United States and only count viewers watching on televisions. Netflix has taken issue with Nielsen's numbers before, Variety notes, but hasn't released its own viewership figures for The Irishman.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Nielsen's data reveals another interesting detail: that 18 percent of viewers fully watched The Irishman on its release day, Nov. 27. That might not sound great, but the same is evidently true of Bird Box, even though the latter film is about 90 minutes shorter. It's unclear how many viewers who didn't finish The Irishman on its debut day later did so, although Recode's Peter Kafka notes it's safe to assume many chose to split the massive 209-minute film up into several viewings over multiple days.
Either way, The Irishman is certainly off to a solid start based on the Nielsen numbers, and those late to the party may very well get on board as the film continues to pick up awards momentum. It's currently a frontrunner to win best picture; one of the other best picture frontrunners is Marriage Story, another Netflix movie that just hit the service on Friday.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Solo travel: the 'ultimate indulgence in 2024'
The Week Recommends Why more of us are choosing to go on holiday on our own
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Stormy Monday for Don'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 queer poets to read whenever but especially now
The Week Recommends April is National Poetry Month
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 Grammys
Speed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published