‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ Surprise Premiere Didn’t Make Much of an Impact on Super Bowl Night
Nielsen has released its latest Netflix numbers, offering a snapshot of how the stealth launch of “The Cloverfield Paradox” performed — and it was no “Bright.”
“Cloverfield” averaged 784,579 viewers per minute on Sunday, February 4, premiering immediately after the Super Bowl ended. Netflix earned plenty of attention for the surprise launch — particularly for the fact that it used NBC’s airwaves to promote a show that might steer viewers away from the Peacock network immediately after the game.
Ultimately, NBC wasn’t hurt by the stunt, as the post–Super Bowl episode of “This Is Us” posted big numbers: The initial airing of the show’s “Super Bowl Sunday” episode averaged 26,987,000 viewers; after three days of DVR and VOD usage, that number went up to 32,702,000.
“Cloverfield” was ultimately watched by 2.8 million viewers in the first three days. That pales in comparison to the much more heavily promoted “Bright,” which averaged 11 million viewers in the same timeframe. Granted, “Bright” benefited from a big-name star in Will Smith, but both “Cloverfield” and “Bright” were hit with negative reviews.
As always, Nielsen’s Netflix ratings are unofficial, and usually disputed by the streaming service as inaccurate. Nonetheless, here are the numbers Nielsen released for “The Cloverfield Paradox”:
- Within the first three days of its availability (2/4-2/6), the film received an average minute audience of over 2.8 million U.S. viewers P2+.
- Within the first seven days of its availability (2/4-2/10), the film received an average minute audience of over 5 million U.S. viewers P2+.
- On its first day of availability (Sunday, 2/4), the film received an average minute audience of 784,579 U.S. viewers P2+.
- On its second day of availability (Monday, 2/5), the film received an average minute audience of nearly 1.3 million U.S. viewers P2+.
And for “Altered Carbon”:
- Within the first three days of its availability (2/2-2/4), the show received an average minute audience of over 1.2 million U.S. viewers P2+.
- Within the first seven days of its availability (2/2-2/8), the show received an average minute audience of nearly 2.5 million U.S. viewers P2+.
“The Cloverfield Paradox” was a unique case in that its existence wasn’t officially confirmed until the Super Bowl, when the film’s first trailer announced its title and the fact that it would be released mere hours later.
