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It appears that Steven Soderbergh‘s High Flying Bird has lived up to its name. In a new interview with The Detroit News‘ Adam Graham, the Oscar-winning director revealed that the basketball drama has been viewed 8 million times since it first hit Netflix in February 2019. By Soderbergh’s calculations, High Flying Bird‘s viewership statistics would have translated to roughly $64 million at the box office, a staggering amount for a niche film without any huge names. Decider has reached out to Netflix for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
During the wide-ranging interview, Soderbergh discussed his recent shift towards streaming, and Netflix in particular. The director told Graham that he likes producing Netflix films because he doesn’t care about being “legitimized” by theatrical releases and box office hauls. “I just want as many eyeballs on the thing as possible,” said Soderbergh.
That certainly seems to have been the case with High Flying Bird, a drama starring André Holland as an NBA agent attempting to end a lockout and secure a payday for his rookie client (American Vandal‘s Melvin Gregg). “More people saw High Flying Bird than would have ever seen it in theaters,” said Soderbergh. While Netflix is notoriously quiet about their viewership statistics, the director explained that according to the latest stats provided by the streaming giant, the film has been viewed 8 million times since its February 8 release. Graham writes that at $8 per ticket, High Flying Bird would have brought in at least $64 million in theaters — or much more, if you live in a city where movie tickets cost $15 and up. “There was no universe where that movie was going to make that kind of money, just no way,” added Soderbergh.
Soderbergh’s next Netflix film is The Laundromat, a dark comedy about the Panama Papers scandal. Meryl Streep stars as a widow investigating an insurance fraud who stumbles upon more than she bargained for, while Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas play two Panama City lawyers exploiting the world’s financial system with a series of illicit money networks. With its all-star cast and early awards buzz, all signs point to success for The Laundromat — but this is Netflix we’re talking about, so we may never really know for sure.
Read Steven Soderbergh’s entire interview with Adam Graham on The Detroit News.
