‘Palm Springs’ Sets Hulu Streaming Record with Biggest Opening Weekend — Exclusive

The records keep on coming for Max Barbakow’s time loop romantic-comedy “Palm Springs.” A spokesperson for Hulu confirms with IndieWire the film broke the streaming platform’s opening weekend record by netting more hours watched over its first three days than any other film on Hulu during the same period. “Palm Springs” launched July 10 on Hulu.

The film also generated the highest amount of social interest for any Hulu original film to date over its premiere weekend, and was the most discussed Hulu original film on Twitter over its first three days.

The “Palm Springs” Hulu record is the latest history-making moment for the acclaimed comedy, which stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January and sold to Hulu and Neon for just over $17.5 million, making it the biggest deal in the history of the Park City-set festival. “Palm Springs” beat out the previous $17.5 million Searchlight Pictures paid for Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” at the 2016 festival. Neon opened the film in select drive-in theaters on the same day it launched in the U.S. on Hulu.

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For Hulu, “Palm Springs” is the latest streaming bonanza following the successful online launch of Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” in April. As IndieWire exclusively reported, “Parasite” became the most-streamed independent or foreign-language film among all titles available on Hulu in its first week of availability on the streaming platform. Additionally, “Parasite” became the second most-watched movie overall on Hulu ever among titles currently available to stream after its first week of release.

“Palm Springs” is one of the most acclaimed comedy releases of 2020 with a 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. IndieWire senior film critic David Ehrlich gave the film a rave review out of Sundance, calling it a “brilliant reinvention of the ‘Groundhog Day’ formula.” Samberg and Milioti star as wedding guests who are sucked into a time loop and forced to relive the same day over and over again. The supporting cast includes Peter Gallagher, Camila Mendes, and J.K. Simmons. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara.

Click here to read IndieWire’s interview with Siara on the making of the now record-breaking Hulu hit.