William Gallagher
Writer/director Jon Watts's "Wolfs," starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, had the most successful opening weekend of any Apple TV+ movie since the streamer's start in 2019.
"Wolfs" had some mixed fortunes with Apple TV+ with the streamer cutting back its promised theatrical release, but simultaneously green-lighting a sequel. That sequel now seems like a good idea, given the viewing information Apple appears to have given Deadline magazine.
"When George, Brad and Jon approached us with the idea for Wolfs, it was an easy call," Matt Dentler, Apple Original Films' head of features, told the publication, "a crackling, fun movie starring two Oscar winners who everyone knows are iconic together."
"Now, audiences have chosen in droves to make Wolfs part of their weekend, making the movie a global blockbuster," continued Dentler. "We always consider Apple TV+ to be the home for the world's most talented artists to create and deliver their best work, and it's exciting to see audiences embrace that so overwhelmingly."
Apple does not release viewing figures for Apple TV+. But it's now reported that overall viewing for the whole of Apple TV+ was boosted by nearly 30% from the week before the debut of "Wolfs."
The film saw the most success in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US. Overall it is also said to have beaten "The Instigators," a similarly comedic thriller with stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.
"Wolfs" is streaming now on Apple TV+ worldwide. It's an action comedy that reunites Clooney and Pitt as two fixers or lone wolves, forced to work together.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
17 Comments
This is a great movie! I watched it last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Best film I've seen in a long time! Highly recommended.
Watched this with my wife and son a few days back. It wanted to be a Shane Black movie, but didn't have his sensibilities, rhythm, energy, or smartness (see The Nice Guys for how it's done - a movie that gets more than a few nods from in "Wolf").
Some smart dialogue, but it felt very oddly paced, sparse, and aimless. There's no way this should have been a theatrical release - it quite firmly has a made for TV feel.
These streamers need to focus on quality scripts first and foremost. "Wolfs" needed one.
5.5/10
Bad Monkey has become my favorite series on Apple TV+.
Yeah, no, didn't do it for me. AppleTV+ series are excellent, the best of all the streamers (notwithstanding some excellent stuff on Amazon like the first two Jack Ryan and both Jack Reachers; HBO is not a streamer), but the movies are really soulless.
I find Wolfs a rather standard Hollywood movie, pretty mediocre and not an experience to write home about at alll. Where Apple TV+ shines, is the series. Slow Horses, Bad Monkey and Masters of the Air are excellent examples of the quality, that at least matches the competition.