While it's still a burgeoning market in the world of original content distribution, Netflix is absolutely on fire. Between its popular television shows, and deals with big ticket franchises, the streaming service has made a name for itself. Its latest headline grabber is, believe it or not, The Ridiculous Six, as the film has now become the most watched film in a 30-day span on the service's roster.
As every good record book will tell you, this record comes with a little bit of an asterisk. In the case of Adam Sandler's latest comedy, Netflix tooted a very specific horn while bragging during their keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier today. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos went into more details as he divulged the following details:
The Ridiculous Six, by way of example, in the first 30 days on Netflix it's been the most-watched movie in the history of Netflix. It's also enjoyed a spot at #1 in every territory we operate in, and in many of them it's still #1.
The twisty quote by Sarandos likely suggests that The Ridiculous Six holds that "Most-Watched" trophy over a First-30-Days span, which means that Adam Sandler's latest comedy got off to an incredibly fast start... the fastest in Netflix history. The Netflix chief, in a live setting, was pumping up Netflix's achievements, and making the Sandler distribution deal sound sweet -- because the comedian has future projects on the Netflix slate. This may not reflect cumulative stats, as Netflix doesn't make those numbers public, so we can't be 100% certain.
You're probably surprised as anything that The Ridiculous Six managed to somehow break a Netflix record, but it's really not that out there for Adam Sandler and his friends to have made themselves a streaming exclusive hit. Without having to go to a theater and pay upwards of $10 a ticket to see what could be qualified as a morbid curiosity, audiences only needed a Netflix account to watch what they might have still hated in the end. Remember, this is a measure of people that have watched the film in its first 30 days of release. We still don't know how many people enjoyed it, or even if every view logged into this record came from a complete viewing of the film.
On the brighter side, it's a good thing Netflix has found itself a slice of success with the critically derided film, as they've got three more films coming from the mind of Adam Sandler. While some are saying that the service is trying to bury the film that, on all other accounts, seems to have gained a reputation as a dud, this is definitely not one of those cases. Like it or not, The Ridiculous Six's monstrous showing in its first month is not only another win for Team Sandler, it's also a huge win for exclusive distribution to streaming services.
The Ridiculous Six is available on Netflix, in case you're curious to see just what made it so popular. If you've seen it already, and you're a big fan of Adam Sandler and David Spade, their next Netflix exclusive - The Do Over - doesn't have a release date as of yet. However, it can be assumed it'll be sometime later this year.
