New Comedy Murder Mystery Breaks Netflix Opening Record

If you had plans last weekend, the release of a new film on Netflix starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler may have completely passed you by.

Evidently though, millions of people across the world ended up watching new comedy Murder Mystery, which broke viewing records on the streaming service.

Murder Mystery set a new record for the number of plays in an opening weekend, with 30,869,863 accounts watching the film in the first three days following its release last Friday.

The news was confirmed on Netflix's comedy account on Twitter, Netflix Is A Joke - which I assure you is a legit account, despite the fact it describes itself as 'a @netflix comedy account run by total tuna cans' (seriously, no idea what that's supposed to mean).

Should we even be that surprised though? After all, what kind of maniac wouldn't be absolutely itching to watch Adam Sandler in a 'whodunnit' style comedy?

The cynics among you might be tempted to conclude that while the film may have been clicked on by 30,869,863 people across its opening weekend, it was most likely hastily exited soon after by a good 30,000,000 of them.

However, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed to Variety that views are only counted if accounts watch at least 70 percent of a film. As such, 30,869,863 Netflix users evidently found the film enjoyable enough to watch the majority of it.

PA

But of course, just because something is popular, doesn't mean it's good - Murder Mystery so far has a rating of 45 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 38 percent on Metacritic, with one review describing it as an "underwhelming attempt at comedy and an excruciating and limited attempt at storytelling. It seems inviting but is unrewarding".

For balance though, another review had the following praise to offer: "Sometimes you just want to tune in and switch off. Sometimes you want a little stick of chewing gum for the mind, not to frantically pore over plot holes and Easter eggs. And that's exactly what this film offers."

So if you've seen all the Love Island there is to watch on the ITV2 + Catch Up Rewind Portal, then this might help you pass the time until the next episode is out.

Topics: TV and Film, Comedy, US Entertainment, Netflix

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey