“Juror No. 2” should have been a big box office hit when it first hit theaters in November. But for some reason, Warner Bros. released it in only 50 theaters, essentially burying what has been touted as Clint Eastwood’s final film. The 94-year-old led The most intense judicial drama of 2024 with “Jury No. 2”, earning stellar reviews and a 93% rating on rotten tomatoes. Warner Bros., however, decided not to overhype this screen legend’s final directorial effort and apparently only released it in theaters so the film could qualify for awards consideration.
There’s even more evidence that the studio should have given the film a wide release, as “Juror No. 2” eventually appeared on the streaming service Max and became an instant hit. Is that an argument in favor of delaying the film to ensure it has a greater impact on streaming? Perhaps, but as most will already know, these streaming platforms aren’t making much money for the industry anyway, so surely a potentially bigger box office take would have interested Warner CEO David Zaslav. Alas, we’re simply not privy to the machinations of the WB boardroom, so the quiet release of “Juror No. 2” will remain a mystery for now.
If you’re Oscar-winning director and Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, having your latest film unceremoniously streamed is probably not the swan song you imagined. Sadly, it will probably be of little comfort to see that the movie is doing well with Max. But it is, as MAX audiences supported Eastwood’s latest effort almost immediately after it hit the MAX servers.
The verdict is in: Juror number 2 is a Max hit
In “Jury No. 2” Nicholas Hoult, who will soon play Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s “Superman.” plays Justin Kemp, husband and father-to-be, who is called for jury duty only to immediately realize that the man on trial is not guilty of murder. How do you know? Because as soon as the trial begins, Justin realizes that he is almost certainly responsible for the victim’s death, leading to a serious personal crisis that creates a gripping narrative bolstered by Toni Collette’s great performances (” Knives Out”) and JK Simmons (“Whiplash”).
If that sounds like it could be pretty good, it seems Max’s audience thinks so too. “Juror No. 2” arrived on Max on December 20, following its anticlimactic theatrical debut the previous month. Almost immediately, the film proved a hit, with viewers around the world streaming the film and pushing it to the top of the most-watched movie charts on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform.
According FlixPatrola site that aggregates streaming audience data, “Juror No. 2” charts in 48 countries around the world as of December 23, 2024. More impressive than that, the film is number one in 19 of those countries , including the United States. , where it peaked at number one on the chart on December 22 and looks set to stay there for the foreseeable future. Interestingly, it took American viewers a little longer than the rest of the world to send Clint Eastwood’s latest film to the top spot, as “Juror No. 2” debuted at number one in 23 countries the day after arriving to Max, while the United States caught up a day later. Since then, the film has remained at the top of the charts in 16 countries, which while it’s not the kind of send-off Eastwood was probably hoping for, at least it’s something.
Juror number 2 could be number 1 at Christmas
As the holiday season continues, expect “Jury No. 2” to falter as audiences get serious about streaming Christmas classics. But if you take a look lists Max, which recently saw Kiernan Shipka’s Thanksgiving-themed romantic comedy dominate, You’ll see that Clint Eastwood’s drama has competition not with the Christmas classic but with the critically maligned one. “Joker: Folie à Deux”, which became a streaming hit on the platform after his ignominious theatrical debut. The Clown Prince of Crime is currently in the number two position, with Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” at number three. Those movies have been on Warner’s streaming service for a little longer than “Juror No. 2,” so Eastwood’s drama has every chance of staying at No. 1 for the rest of the holiday season.
Meanwhile, if Eastwood plans to make another film, he would be well within his rights to throw a Christopher Nolan-style tantrum and leave Warner in the dust for his next film. For some reason, some Warner executive (probably David Zaslav) seems to have thought that this mid-budget legal drama would do terribly well in theaters, and while I think a case could be made for “Juror No. 2” to be better suited for streaming In an age where mid-budget dramas simply don’t make much money at the box office, we’re talking about Clint Eastwood. Leaving aside all the evidence that “Juror No. 2” would actually have done quite well with a broad release, you have to give the man his flowers, for God’s sake. At least he can rest easy knowing that the streaming crowds have rallied behind his movie, and at the very least, hopefully, this whole debacle will push him to make one more movie before giving up for good.
