As Barbenheimer Blew Up The Box Office, They Cloned Tyrone Topped The Streaming Charts
"Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are rightfully the talk of the town these past weeks, as both movies have been filling up multiplexes in a clear sign that the American theatrical experience isn't quite dead yet. While "Barbie" is set to cross the billion dollar mark this weekend and "Oppenheimer" screenings are so full that even Steven Soderbergh apparently couldn't nab a ticket, another movie also proved to be a hit with audiences who stayed home. According to The Wrap's data from Samba TV, Netflix's "They Cloned Tyrone" was the most-streamed movie for the last week of July, reaching more households than any other film on streaming or linear TV.
While Netflix is historically known for less-than-transparent viewership data (an issue that the Hollywood unions on strike are hoping to correct in their fight for streaming residuals), it's worth noting that The Wrap pulled from a much more reliable third-party analytics company. Samba TV is a bit like the classic Nielsen rating system, but it samples over 3 million households (of smart TV owners, it should be noted) whereas Nielsen only pulls from around 42,000 TV-watching homes (as of August 2022). That means we can say with certainty that "They Cloned Tyrone," the thoughtful and stylish sci-fi comedy starring Jamie Foxx, John Boyega, and Teyonah Parris, connected big time with audiences across the country.
An all-star cast and a stylishly executed premise
"They Cloned Tyrone" deserves the hype: the movie about a pimp, a drug dealer, and a sex worker who uncover a secret conspiracy to clone Black people in their neighborhood is wildly entertaining and shot with a clear eye for the cinematic. The movie couples the absurdist wit of "Sorry To Bother You" with the creepy, racist conspiracies of "Get Out," yet it still feels one-of-a-kind. It's also led by stars with major built-in fan bases: Parris is on the Marvel Cinematic Universe roster and Boyega starred in the latest "Star Wars" trilogy — though both actors have faced racist backlash and Boyega, in particular, has been open about his bad experiences with "Star Wars" fandom. To see both actors now star in a movie about the ways in which society commodifies and disposes of people of color feels really powerful, even as the movie interlaces some super-funny comedy with its social commentary.
Foxx is also an actor who's always worth showing up for, and it's especially great to see him in a major role now given that he recently survived a harrowing hospitalization for an undisclosed medical complication (per CBS). Samba TV's data suggests that Black audiences in particular have been tuning in to "They Cloned Tyrone," which currently holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes. /Film's own Vanessa Armstrong was decidedly mixed on the genre-blending movie but called it a "bold film that takes big swings" in her review.
According to Samba TV, "They Cloned Tyrone" beat out movies like "Hidden Strike," "Happiness For Beginners," and "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" to top the streaming charts. You can watch the movie now on Netflix.