With 2025 approaching its end, Netflix brought back Rian Johnson's Knives Out franchise as one of the last major releases on the popular streaming service. As Daniel Craig returned to the role of Benoit Blanc for his third outing, his latest mystery film has already become a success, but with a catch.
As Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2025, the streaming platform revealed in new data that threequel became the #1 movie worldwide, with 20.2 million views, while having 49.2 million hours viewed.
However, Johnson's trilogy entry had a major 40% dip in viewership in comparison to the Glass Onion movie from 2022. The second installment came out during an era where data was only focused on hours viewed. While Wake Up Dead Man garnered 49.2 million hours viewed, the second Knives Out film had 82.1 million hours viewed during its debut weekend.
It's also worth noting that Glass Onion broke several streaming records on Netflix between late 2022 and early 2023, including becoming the most-streamed movie in a single week and eventually joining the streamer's top 10 Most Popular List, ranking at no. 3. Eventually, when Netflix introduced the new model where views were measured within the first 91 days, the sequel dropped in ranking but remained on the list up until it was knocked out earlier this year when Carry-On made the charts.
Furthermore, the 2022 sequel had a limited-time wide release, where it made $15 million. This turned into one of the best-performing cinema debuts for a Netflix movie, which likely helped with the word-of-mouth for the streaming release.
In contrast, the box office was lukewarm for Wake Up Dead Man. While the third installment also received a limited-time wide theatrical release, it wasn't as heavily marketed as Glass Onion. As a result, it became the lowest-grossing Knives Out movie, with just $3 million.
|
Knives Out Movies |
Box Office Total |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Knives Out (2019) |
$312.9 million |
97% |
92% |
|
Glass Onion (2022) |
$15 million |
91% |
92% |
|
Wake Up Dead Man (2025) |
$3 million |
93% |
94% |
On the other hand, Wake Up Dead Man's Rotten Tomatoes score is currently at 93% (based on 281 submitted reviews) while it has 94% on the Popcornmeter, from over 1,000 verified ratings. With audience members, it has the highest Popcornmeter rating in the whole trilogy, while having the second-highest critics' score in the franchise, coming right after 2019's Knives Out, which has 97%.
In ScreenRant's Wake Up Dead Man movie review, Mae Abdulbaki shared how Johnson's latest chapter has "its charming moments," despite there being "a lot to think about in terms of the story, and the cast is good, if not great, overall." However, Abdulbaki stressed that "it’s just hard to watch the movie and realize the mystery and excitement have waned."
Despite the lower viewership compared to Glass Onion, Wake Up Dead Man still has a chance to overcome this difference. The online reactions have been very strong for the third installment, with many even saying that it exceeds the second film in many ways. In addition, with the holidays around the corner, there could be a potential spike in the long run.
The Wake Up Dead Man cast consists of several major Hollywood names, from Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Josh Brolin, to Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Thomas Haden Church, and Daryl McCormack.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, along with Glass Onion and 2019's Knives Out, are all available for streaming on Netflix.
