Some of you might still be in a Black Mirror: Bandersnatch haze praising everything streaming giant Netflix does.
However, there’s no doubt that the platform has released some stinkers (The Ridiculous 6, anyone?) but it seems that even Netflix has its limits when it comes to Will Ferrell and John C. Riley’s new Sherlock Holmes send up.
A few days ago The Brag reported that Holmes & Watson had been blessed with the rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (it’s now risen to 9% thanks to four kind critics) but it has now been revealed that the film tested so low that Netflix allegedly refused to buy it off Sony.
Rumours were started by Deadline earlier in the week and were given somewhat validity by a tweet from The Wrap’s Alonso Duralde that claimed when Sony came a’knocking with a comedy featuring two blockbuster stars they gave it a miss.
Netflix, which bought The Cloverfield Paradox from Paramount, reportedly turned down the opportunity to purchase the poorly-testing #HolmesAndWatson from Sony.
— Alonso Duralde ?? (@ADuralde) December 27, 2018
As Duralde asserts, Netflix is no stranger to picking up wide releases for films that production houses are unsure will fit a cinematic release.
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They pulled the bait and switch earlier this year with the surprise release of the third film in the Cloverfield universe, The Cloverfield Paradox (19% on Rotten Tomatoes).
They had more luck with the international release of Natalie Portman vehicle Annihilation which was universally praised and has even garnered itself some Oscar buzz.
After Netflix allegedly turned them down, Sony went with a different tactic to ensure the survival of Holmes & Watson. The company didn’t let any critics see the film before its public release on Christmas day.
The sneaky move seems to have somewhat worked for Sony with The AV Club citing that the film took in $12 million on its first weekend against a reported $42 million budget.
It’s not great but still a fair wack of money coming in from clueless families banking on seeing a hilarious Ferrell and Riley romp before critics could warn them otherwise.
Watch: Holmes And Watson’s Official Trailer
