Netflix’s fantasy drama, Bright, has been largely panned by critics, but according to Nielsen, the streaming service has pulled in significant streaming numbers and greenlit a sequel.
Bright, starring Will Smith, has been pretty uniformely hated by critics. However, the poor reviews haven’t stopped people from coming to the movie. Nielsen recently announced that over the film’s opening weekend, December 22-24, about 11 million Netflix users streamed the movie. What’s more, that’s only a portion of the viewers, as Nielsen doesn’t count those watching on a laptop, tablet, or phone.
Related: Will Smith fights side by side with elves and orcs in Netflix’s Bright trailer
Still, for a movie critics hated, those are pretty strong numbers. In fact, according to The Hollywood Reporter, that’s the biggest feature release for the streaming service ever.
While Bright‘s Nielsen numbers still fall below Stranger Things‘ 15 million opening weekend viewership, Netflix has greenlit a sequel with Will Smith set to return.
The effort behind the film isn’t just about the Bright franchise. Netflix is putting its support behind the David Ayers-helmed flick to send a message to movie studios that streaming services are just as profitable–if not more–for motion picture releases as theatrical.
However, it’s not clear if Bright will be the one to really shake up the feature film status quo like they did with television. Though fans didn’t collectively hate the movie as much as critics, many–including Chance the Rapper, who called the film’s treatment of race “a bit shallow”–were underwhelmed.
Rewatch numbers for the film will really tell how viewers felt about Bright. However, with so many people viewing content via streaming services, Bright might be heralding a huge change in the industry, regardless of fans’ opinions on the film.