After debuting on Netflix December 12, following a brief theatrical run, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has strung the perfect chord with audiences.  The third installment in Rian Johnson’s franchise has topped the first film on Rotten Tomatoes, sitting at 94% on the Popcornmeter with 500+ verified reviews, compared to the first 2 films, 92%.

Wake Up Dead Man marks the 3rd appearance for Daniel Craig’s master detective Benoit Blanc and also stars Josh O’Connor, who is being lauded by critics and audiences alike for his performance as Father Jud Duplenticy.  The rest of the ensemble that these films have become known for includes: Mila Kunis, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny, Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Thomas Haden Church, and Daryl McCormack.

While it’s still early days for the film relative to the majority of audiences having to wait until the Netflix release, it’s hard to imagine the film’s rating dropping all too much.  Every Knives Out installment from writer-director Rian Johnson has been classified as Verified Hot by audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.  The film is also slightly outperforming in terms of ratings with audiences compared to critics, with critic scores currently sitting at 92% on the Tomatometer.  The critics’ score is higher than Glass Onion, which is at 91% on the Tomatometer, but interestingly enough, below 2019’s Knives Out, which sits at 97%.  The 94% on the Popcornmeter for Wake Up Dead Man is also a new high for a large portion of the ensemble in terms of films they have starred in.

With the film just hitting Netflix today, it is still unknown how viewership numbers will shake out for the streamer.   Netflix is surely hoping the strong enthusiasm for this film won’t mirror the disappointing box office for the film, with ScreenRant’s Brennan Klein pointing out the 3rd installment is the first to find itself outside of Thanksgiving weekend’s domestic top 5 at the box office.  The film was released in a very small number of theaters, just 600 in the US, as major cinemas such as AMC refused to screen the film due to their disagreements with Netflix’s release window strategies.  

Be sure to keep an eye out at MXDWN for any updates on Wake Up Dead Man’s rollout and how the film pans out for Netflix.