Hulu may have been on the receiving end of some negative publicity recently after an episode of the Animaniacs revival faced the wrath of Johnny Depp’s fans for an outdated joke based on a meme that peaked in 2018 being interpreted as a direct attack on the actor’s credibility, a sentence that only makes sense in 2020, but it isn’t all bad news for the Disney-owned streaming service.
Capitalizing on the problems plaguing the theatrical industry, Hulu have stepped in and acquired the rights to a handful of movies this year, and the decision has worked out pretty well so far. Andy Samberg’s existential rom-com Palm Springs received almost universal critical acclaim and gained a reputation as arguably 2020’s best comedy, becoming the company’s biggest ever original hit in the space of just three days and fully justifying the $17.5 million it cost to secure distribution.
However, it’s since been usurped as Hulu’s most-watched flick by slow-burning mystery/horror thriller Run, which was originally scheduled for a theatrical release back in May before being sent straight to streaming. Searching‘s Aneesh Chaganty co-writes and directs the tale of an overprotective mother and her chronically ill daughter who find their relationship slowly disintegrating as a series of shocking revelations come to light.
Chaganty is clearly destined for huge things having helmed two acclaimed genre thrillers that manage to find fresh ways to approach familiar setups while also subverting the expected tropes, and the filmmaker hasn’t even turned 30 yet. Stephen King recently gave Run two very enthusiastic thumbs up as well, and based on the early viewing numbers, it appears that Hulu customers around the world agree with the legendary horror author.
Published: Nov 25, 2020 08:21 am