Clooney-Pitt ‘Wolfs’ Is the Most-Watched Movie in Apple TV+ History
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Apple’s recent pivot from blockbuster theatrical releases was a surprising twist, but it appears it’s already paying off for the company. Apple’s latest film, Wolfs, may not have packed theatres, but it’s driving record viewership to Apple TV+ instead.
This week, Apple told Deadline that Wolfs has become the most-viewed movie in Apple TV+ history, despite its limited theatrical release. Or, perhaps, because of it. While Apple didn’t provide any specifics, Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. was told that it boosted viewership on the service by nearly 30% the week after it premiered on September 27.
Some of that may have to do with the headline cast. Wolfs stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt as a pair of professional “fixers” who are hired independently from each other to clean up after a high-profile crime and forced to work together on the case. It’s the first movie to pair up Ocean’s Eleven alumni George Clooney and Brad Pitt in starring roles since 2008’s Burn After Reading, so it was bound to garner some heavy interest no matter where it landed first.
When George, Brad and Jon approached us with the idea for Wolfs, it was an easy call — a crackling, fun movie starring two Oscar winners who everyone knows are iconic together. Now, audiences have chosen in droves to make Wolfs part of their weekend, making the movie a global blockbuster. We always consider Apple TV+ to be the home for the world’s most talented artists to create and deliver their best work, and it’s exciting to see audiences embrace that so overwhelmingly.Matt Dentler, Apple Original Films’ head of features, speaking to Deadline
Still, last year’s Killers of the Flower Moon also brought significant star power, with Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro in leading roles. It was also directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese. However, it failed to create the box office buzz Apple had hoped for and became the first harbinger of Apple’s doomed theatrical release ambitions.
Wolfs was slated to have a similarly wide theatrical release even before we knew its title, with an opening date of September 20. However, in early August Deadline reported that Wolfs would instead spend only one week in theaters before landing on Apple TV+ on September 27.
That move represented a major shift from its previous big movie releases, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, and Argylle, all of which ran in theatres for at least six weeks, followed by a run on premium video-on-demand services before landing on Apple TV+. For example, Killers of the Flower Moon made its theatrical debut on October 20, 2023, went on sale through Paramount Home Entertainment on December 5, and didn’t show up on Apple TV+ until January 12, 2024.
There’s no indication that Apple failed to make money on any of these productions in the long run, but it seems the bulk of its revenue didn’t come from the box office. Not only does that make big theatrical releases a poor financial investment, but it risks the films being pilloried as “flops” due to poor in-person attendance. It’s pretty easy to understand why Apple’s top brass have decided it’s better to give theaters a pass and get its flicks on Apple TV+ before the buzz has time to die down.
After all, its last three movies were seen as old news by the time they hit Apple TV+. They’d already had time to be picked apart by critics — for good or ill — and therefore lacked a certain freshness. On the other hand, Wolfs hit the streaming service while it’s still new and intriguing.
According to Deadline, the film gathered the most interest in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany, although it’s available in more than 100 countries worldwide. That’s given Apple a much more solid win for this one, and it’s encouraging that the company has already signed director Jon Watts for a sequel.
Apple also isn’t giving up on wide theatrical releases entirely — any film it wants to be Oscar-eligible has to get at least a limited release — but it’s being far more choosey about which ones get a full run on the big screen. Next summer’s F1 racing epic with Brad Pitt is expected to be its next film, which Apple hopes will become its first big summer blockbuster hit.