Nov 4, 2022

"Wendell & Wilde" can't break Netflix's top 10 in the first week as acquisitions continue to outstrip the original.

Netflix has invested heavily in original animation and has achieved significant success in return for that investment. But in terms of viewing time, the streamer's original feature title has not fared nearly as well.

Henry Selick's Wendell & Wild, which premiered on 10/28, failed to break into Netflix's Weekly Top 10 English Movies list in its first week on the platform, with Illumination's Sing (2016) and Dreamworks Animation's The Boss Baby (2017) both achieving the feat in the same period.

The only Netflix original animation feature released this year to break into the company's top 10-week list is Chris Williams' Sea Beast, which is certainly a small sample size – Netflix's other feature-length animation title released so far this year is Apollo10 1/2. It's just: A Space Age Childhood, Entergalactic, The House and Wendell & Wild, but when Netflix recruits talent like Celik and co-writer/producer Jordan Peele to produce animated films, the top 10 debuts seem to be a reasonable expectation.

Not all hope is lost. Celik's film doesn't fit the simple aesthetic type, and it can take a while for the audience to discover it. And perhaps like the previous features of the previous Celik nightmare before Christmas and Coraline, the real success for Wendell & Wilde will come in the form of an annual holiday viewing.

Between now and the end of the year, Netflix will release 3 more original animation features: My Father's Dragon from Nora Twomey, Pinocchio from Guillermo del Toro, and Scrooge: A Christmas Carol.

So, what exactly worked on Netflix - below, we'll look at the animation features that appeared on Netflix's Top 10 English Movies list in 2022, and how each movie works compared to the acquisition of streamers and catalog content. I've listed how many weeks I've spent on the list. It is worth noting that all films, whether new or old, are cg animation, and that all films are aimed at children and family viewers. (Wendell & Wild was rated PG-13.

Despicable Me 2

Sing 2

Sea Beast (Netflix Original) Shrek

Back to the Outback (Netflix Original, 2021 Release) Boss BabySingChickenhare and Dark Hamster Despicable Me

The Secret Life of Pets 2Shrek2Marmaduke

Riverdance: Animated Adventures After Best Shrek Forever

Turboseal Team Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Angry Birds movie

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