Marry Me
Comcast CEO Roberts: ‘Marry Me,’ ‘Bel-Air’ Most-Streamed Movie, TV Show on Peacock
March 7, 2022
NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform has two hits to brag about. Romantic comedy Marry Me is the most-watched movie on the streamer concurrently available in theaters, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told an investor group — the executive’s first in-person investor event since the beginning of the pandemic.
Speaking March 7 at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Roberts added that “Bel-Air,” the Will Smith-produced reboot of his former TV series “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” is the most-watched series on Peacock. NBCUniversal heavily promoted the show on Peacock during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Marry Me, co-starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, has generated $21.7 million at the North American box office ($47 million globally) since its Feb. 11 release. The movie will be available through digital retail channels March 13, and on disc March 29.
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Roberts said that over the past two years, the second-most-popular new brand in the country after Zoom has been Peacock. The executive said the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI were the most-streamed sporting events in history.
Roberts contends combining the broadcast content power of NBC with the Universal Studios’ movies for hybrid distribution on the ad-supported/SVOD service is a great strategy going forward. He reiterated that Universal’s new Pay-1 movie distribution deals forgoes HBO, moving directly to Peacock.
“I think we have a great story and great momentum with Peacock,” Roberts said.
In addition to Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Studios has aggressively sought to rejigger the theatrical window following the pandemic, including releasing movies into retail channels as soon as 17 days after their box office debut, depending on ticket sales.
The studio tried a different approach with Halloween Kills and The Boss Baby: Family Business. Both movies were made available on the Peacock platform concurrently with their theatrical release — a strategy Warner Bros. employed in 2021 with the Christmas Day 2020 debut of Wonder Woman 1984 — and ended this year prior to the release of The Batman.