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While Daniel Craig (make sure you’re pronouncing his last name correctly) will arguably always be best known for playing James Bond, over the last half decade, he’s certainly added another memorable character to his repertoire. Craig debuted Southern private investigator Benoit Blanc in 2019’s Knives Out, reprised the role in 2022 for Glass Onion, and will have his third Blanc outing in next year’s Wake Up Dead Man. Though Knives Out was a theatrical release, Glass Onion and Wake Up Dead Man are Netflix subscription-exclusives, which recently prompted Craig to talk about how he wishes they had standard theatrical runs too.
Craig recently sat down with his Wake Up Dead Man costar Josh O’Connor for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, with both men having also worked with director Luca Guadagnino on Queer and Challengers, respectively. When O’Connor asked Craig if it bothers him how these Knives Out movies are “seen,” the latter responded:
The first one was such a surprise, and it was a fully released film. It made lots of money and things. And, listen, I’m not knocking where it’s gone to and where it is. But it saddens me that there isn’t more of a theatrical moment for these movies. These movies seem to have a cross-generational appeal. And the idea that families go and see that movie just fills me with massive joy. It’s not just a niche movie we’re doing here — it’s for everybody. And the fact is, to have a collective experience in the cinema, blah, blah, blah. I know everybody says this, but it’s the truth.
nives Out was distributed by Lionsgate and made over $312 million worldwide off a reported $40 million budget, which is definitely a nice chunk of change. However, after its release, Netflix acquired the rights for the next two sequels writer and director Rian Johnson would put together. To give credit where it’s due, Glass Onion did play for one week at the three largest theater chains in the United States (AMC, Regal and Cinemark), which is the first and only time this has happened so far. It’s unclear how much money was raked in during that theatrical run, but it’s a moot point when reading Craig’s comments, as he wishes it and the forthcoming Wake Up Dead Man was getting the same kind of theatrical love as Knives Out did. He continued:
I’m glad people see it in their homes. I’m glad people watch it together in their homes and have fun doing it. That’s absolutely great. But there’s nothing quite like going to the cinema. Laughing in a cinema is the best thing in the world.
It remains to be seen if Wake Up Dead Man will get the same kind of limited theatrical rollout as Glass Onion did, but I do agree what Daniel Craig said. Yes, it is great that people can watch these movies in the comfort of their own homes, whether they’re by themselves or with family and friends. But the theatrical experience is a special experience, one that can’t be fully replicated at home. Unfortunately, given the way Netflix handles playing its movies on big screens, the chances of any of them playing longer than a week in that format are slim to none.
Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor will be joined in Wake Up Dead Man by Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church. While we wait for more details about this third installment, feel free to look over the other best movies on Netflix to watch now if you’ve already rewatched Glass Onion recently.