'Greyhound' Has Become The Biggest Movie On Apple TV+
Tom Hanks has steered Apple TV+'s latest original feature film to record-breaking success. Greyhound, a World War II drama written by and starring Hanks, has become the biggest opening weekend release ever for Apple TV+, shattering records for both original series and movies that have debuted on the service.
Tom Hanks may be shattered that Greyhound won't debut in theaters due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the World War II drama is shattering all kinds of records on Apple TV+. Greyhound enjoyed the largest opening weekend release for the new streamer, Deadline reports. No exact numbers were released by Apple TV+, but Deadline suggests that the viewing numbers is the equivalent of "a summer theatrical box office big hit," whatever that means. The film also reportedly brought in new subscribers to the streamer since its Friday premiere, with 30% of its viewers new to the service.
Considering we don't know the exact numbers of Apple TV+'s subscriber base, it's hard to tell how impressive these viewing numbers actually are. According to Bloomberg, about 10 million people had signed up for Apple TV+ by February, but only about half that number actively used the service. Perhaps that number has increased in the five months since then, perhaps it's decreased. Who's to say except for Apple, which will still not release official subscriber or viewing numbers, nor comment on what movie or TV series the Aaron Schneider-directed Greyhound surpassed (likely candidates include The Morning Show, the Anthony Mackie-led The Banker, or the Chris Evans-starring Defending Jacob).
But perhaps Apple is attempting to assuage Hanks' concerns that audiences were deprived of the theatrical experience with the straight-to-streaming release of Greyhound. And good streaming numbers always drums up good publicity for a new streaming platform that is relying on the strength of its high-profile stars and creatives.
Apple TV+ has even more star-studded and potentially record-breaking titles ahead of it, with the Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and the Will Smith-starring slave thriller Emancipation. And despite Hanks' grumbling last week, the star seems happy to work with Apple TV+ again, teaming up with Steven Spielberg for another World War II limited series Masters of the Air.