Netflix’s Bright got 11 million views during its first weekend

Last Updated on July 21, 2021

Netflix put $90 million into getting director David Ayer's fantasy/buddy cop movie mash-up BRIGHT made and released, and according to Nielsen's subscription rating system the risk is turning out well for them. BRIGHT hit the streaming service on December 22nd, and 11 million of its subscribers checked it out during its "opening weekend".

At the box office, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI took in $71 million over the December 22 weekend. If the subscribers that watched BRIGHT had paid for tickets, it's estimated that it would have made $98 million – putting it at #1 over STAR WARS. 

BRIGHT couldn't catch up to the 15.8 million views that the first episode of Stranger Things season 2 received during its first weekend of release, but Stranger Things is so popular that it's impressive BRIGHT even came as close as it did.

Netflix has noted that Nielsen's system doesn't take into account viewers who watch their service through laptops and mobile devices, so the actual view count on these is probably even higher. But Netflix doesn't share that information.

Written by Max Landis, BRIGHT stars Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Edgar Ramirez, Ike Barinholtz, Enrique Murciano, Jay Hernandez, Andrea Navedo, Veronica Ngo, Alex Meraz, Margaret Cho, Brad William Henke, Dawn Olivieri, and Kenneth Choi. The story is set in an 

alternate present-day where humans, orcs, elves and fairies have been coexisting since the beginning of time. Ward, a human (Smith), and Jakoby, an orc (Edgerton), embark on a routine night patrol that will alter the future of their world as they know it. Battling both their own personal differences as well as an onslaught of enemies, they must work together to protect a young female elf and a thought-to-be-forgotten relic, which in the wrong hands could destroy everything.

Netflix is already planning a sequel, which Will Smith will be returning for.

BRIGHT hasn't been well received by critics, but I can't comment on its quality one way or the other. I wasn't one of the 11 million who watched it last weekend.