Despite its director's initial opposition to the streaming plan, the Jake Gyllenhaal-led Road House broke all records for viewership on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming and subscription service.
Road House is a remake of the 1989 original starring the late Patrick Swayze. In his acting debut, Gyllenhaal plays a former UFC titleholder now working as a bouncer opposite real-life UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
The director, Doug Liman, initially expressed his disappointment and opposition to the plan to stream the film on Prime Video instead of being released to theaters. Liman even attempted to boycott the movie during its South by Southwest (SXSW) premiere in Austin, Texas, last month, although he reversed the decision.
"If we don’t put tentpole movies in movie theaters, there won’t be movie theaters in the future… [O]nce the theaters go out of business, it could take decades for the business to recover, if ever,” Liman said in an earlier interview.
Amazon's decision to drop the film on Prime Video was a gamble worth making, as it raked in impressive figures in its first week on the platform. Reportedly, the film recorded 2.3 million streams worldwide in its first three days.
Because of these statistics, Road House also became the No. 1 film across all platforms. It surpassed hits like Disney+’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Netflix’s 3 Body Problem.
“It’s great to see the film taking off with fans of the iconic original and a huge turnout from new audiences. This incredible film is giving everyone something to discuss, and we couldn’t be more proud!” Jennifer Salke, Amazon MGM Studios chief, said of the film’s achievement.