Tom Hanks is very much a firm believer in the theatrical experience, but the beloved actor is becoming a regular presence on a multitude of streaming services, although for the most part, the circumstances have been outwith his control.
Last year, the two-time Academy Award winner voiced his disappointment that World War II drama Greyhound, a passion project that he wrote and produced as well as starred in, had been picked up by AppleTV+ after the Coronavirus pandemic nixed any plans for a big screen release, and his upcoming turn as Gepetto in Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio will be heading straight to Disney Plus.
Not only that, but it was announced last year that News of the World, the sweeping Western directed by the Bourne franchise’s Paul Greengrass, would debut internationally on Netflix. The movie did get a cinema release in the United States on Christmas Day, but could only manage to earn $2.3 million over the three-day weekend.
The $38 million film didn’t even crack $11 million domestically before hitting VOD last month, but News of the World is already the most-watched title on Netflix despite only being added to the content library yesterday, having ended the reign of South Korean sci-fi Space Sweepers.
In the buildup to release, it’d been touted as a potential awards season contender, and while reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, young unknown Helena Zengel has been receiving most of the plaudits at the expense of her more esteemed co-star, with the actress recently picking up a Golden Globe nomination. That being said, the absorbing Tom Hanks Western is well worth checking out, and it looks set to dominate the Netflix Top 10 chart for at least the rest of the week.
