When I saw Road House in theaters, I was thinking a lot about why it should have gotten a theatrical run. I had the same thought when I saw The Idea of You on a big screen. However, it was Netflix’s Hit Man that sent me over the edge about this theater vs. streaming predicament, because it’s a true shame that it won’t be in theaters long before going straight to streaming.
So, after witnessing this Glen Powell-led project on the 2024 movie schedule in theaters, I’m asking, begging, pleading, in fact, to Netflix and other streamers to please put their movies in cinemas longer. So many people won’t get to see this magnificent film with an audience and on a massive screen, meaning they won’t get to have one of the most fun movie-going experiences of the year, and that just makes me sad.
Hit Man Was One Of My Favorite Theatrical Experiences Of The Year
To be blunt, Hit Man is easily one of the best theatrical experiences I’ve had all year.
It’s up there with Dune: Part Two and The Fall Guy. Honestly, the crowd I was with for this comedy was more reactive than the folks I saw the other two movies with, and it 100% made Hit Man even better.
Without giving too much away, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man stars Glen Powell as Gary, a guy who is a full-time professor and has a side hustle where he pretends to be a hitman to help the police catch potential murderers. Throughout the film, we see the Top Gun: Maverick actor play multiple characters as Gary takes on different personas to catch potential criminals.
Powell gives an SNL-quality comedic performance, and the audience I saw this movie with couldn’t get enough of it. From his Tiger King-esque character to the ginger British hitman, seeing these wild looks on a big screen was oodles of fun, and then witnessing the actor jump effortlessly from character to character had the majority of us in awe, as proven by the gasps and laughs throughout the movie.
Then, as the film shifts its focus to Gary and his relationship with Maddy, there's an element of romance, sexiness and intrigue added to the project that’s irresistible. Their unconventional love story had the audience and me on the edge of our seats, and the audible reactions I heard as we saw these two work through the challenges of their relationship were relatable and hilarious.
All-in-all, everything about Hit Man is fun, and it’s amplified when you are able to see it with a crowd. So, Netflix, I’m asking you again: Please, put your movies in theaters for longer.
Netflix Should Have Learned A Lesson From Glass Onion
This is the second time in recent memory that Netflix has done a limited release for one of its movies before putting it on streaming. If you remember, the critically acclaimed Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, was in theaters for one week, and it made $15 million at the box office. Netflix’s head honcho even said they could have made more if Rian Johnson’s whodunnit would have been in theaters longer.
That was an example of a win-win. Audiences got to have a blast figuring out the mystery together while laughing at the antics of Benoit Blanc, while Netflix got some extra cash from the theatrical run.
However, it was only a week, and in the grand scheme of things, more people saw the movie from their couches than a movie theater seat.
The same will be true for Hit Man. It’s also getting a limited theatrical run, so if you live in a major city you can see it before its premiere on Netflix’s release schedule in June.
Sadly, Hit Man Had To Face This Release Reality, And That’s Incredibly Disappointing
These limited windows of time and screens make it incredibly difficult for folks to see the movie in theaters, and it’s probable that most don’t even know Hit Man can be seen in a cinema. When Netflix picked up the movie, Richard Linklater knew this would be a reality he’d have to face, as he told Texas Monthly:
I think every single filmmaker whose film goes to Netflix has that conversation with them. You know, I have hopes that people will see Hit Man in theaters. But I also know that by the time a lot of them hear about the movie, it will be out of theaters.
It makes me sad that this is a truth Hit Man had to face, and what makes me even sadder is most people won’t even know what they’re missing.
I had to very actively seek out a screening of this movie, and I had to travel to New York City from New Jersey to watch it. Most of my friends didn’t even know what the film was, despite it getting great reviews and wonderful publicity coming out of its festival run. The fact of the matter is, this under-advertised theatrical run is not that known about and might not do well.
However, as proven with Glass Onion, some of Netflix’s movies have the power to have a great box office run. Glen Powell is a box office star (just look at the success of Anyone But You and Top Gun: Maverick) and Richard Linklater is a well-known filmmaker, it feels like their comedy has so much potential to draw in an audience. However, it won’t get the chance, because it’ll only be in theaters for a couple of weeks.
If it had a longer and wider run, it’d make the movie more accessible and it would give people the chance to have one of the best theatrical experiences of the year. Proper advertising and a wide release would help folks fall in love with Hit Man, and they’d fall even harder if they could see it on the big screen with an audience. I know I did.
So, Netflix, if you are reading, please let your movies like Hit Man live in theaters longer, because it’ll give more people the opportunity to see fantastic films like this one in the way they were intended to be seen: on a big screen.
If you aren’t able to see Hit Man in theaters, or you want to re-watch it later, you’ll be able to stream it with a Netflix subscription on June 7.
