This past weekend, the World War II action thriller Greyhound introduced the world to another Tom Hanks drama, albeit in a new and radical way. After a traditional theatrical release was cancelled, with major theater chains still being closed in the United States, streaming upstart Apple TV+ acquired the film from Sony for a digital summer debut. The results of that deal have been pretty spectacular, as Greyhound has just become the biggest opening weekend for the platform to have ever experienced.
Deadline broke the news, as sources close to Apple TV+ divulged that Greyhound put up some spectacular numbers over its initial viewing period. While there’s no specific figures provided as to how many viewers were under the tent, or what other titles may have been surpassed in the Apple TV+ library, there was one impressive fact that landed into the news being shared. As it turns out, 30% of Greyhound’s audience were newcomers to the platform.
Without concrete numbers, there’s no real way to compare the success of Greyhound to, say, the success of Hulu’s social media darling/streaming success story Palm Springs. However, the fact that 30% of the audience that showed up for Tom Hanks’ historical fiction narrative were brand new to the Apple TV+ tent is pretty spectacular for the fairly new service on the block. And that news couldn’t have come from a better weekend in the current climate of movie viewing.
Last weekend’s release window was stacked with three of the major streaming services debuting a new film; with Netflix’s The Old Guard rounding out the trio of titans fighting for housebound eyeballs. So with the competition undoubtedly being fierce as anything, for any movie to stake some claim to success is something that needs to be celebrated. That feather looks to be firmly planted in the Apple TV+ cap, and it looks rather good for the developing content powerhouse.
The Greyhound results, while quantified by statements rather than numbers, must have been impressive enough that Apple TV+ felt like boasting the success. This is saying something, considering they’re still somewhat riding high after their TV hit Defending Jacob made its own splash a couple of months ago. With future films like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and the recently acquired Will Smith/Antoine Fuqua thriller Emancipation on the horizon for Apple TV+, this sort of news is exactly what the studio/streaming provider will want to hear to boost their future endeavors. Looks like Tom Hanks’ star power is, as usual, a sturdy ship to sail on; and you can take the voyage for yourself as Greyhound is currently available for streaming, on Apple TV+.
