Netflix says 'The Irishman' watched by 26 million homes in first week
The Irishman — a film no major studio was willing to bankroll — has been a hit for Netflix.
The streaming service’s content chief Ted Sarandos said at a conference Tuesday that 26.4 million homes watched 70 percent or more of the star-studded mob epic in the first week since its release on Nov. 27. What’s more, Netflix estimates that figure will hit 40 million homes by the end of the year.
In addition, The Irishman film earned $6.7 million in theaters in limited release. Plus, the film just received five Golden Globe nominations, including drama motion picture and best director for Martin Scorsese.
We count a viewer as anyone who completes 70% of a film.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) December 10, 2019
The reveal represents some rare behind-the-curtain intel on the service’s viewership figures.
The Irishman languished for years in development as Scorsese tried to a studio to fund the film, which is a three-and-a-half hour drama with a high budget thanks to its de-aging technology used on stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.
“People just weren’t interested in financing it — and that was before the CGI,” Scorsese told EW. “Nobody would give us the money. But I really felt that De Niro and I had one more picture to make, at least, and he was really connected with the character.”
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