Cha-ching! That’s the sound of the first three episodes of “Reacher” Season 3 debuting on Amazon Prime Video today.
It’s February 20, 2025, which means Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) is back to investigating (and then beating up) the bad guys. All of this means money in Amazon’s pocket.
“Reacher” has generated $279 million in subscriber revenue for Prime Video since its 2022 debut, according to a study by Parrot Analytics, “demonstrating the power of strong IP, strategic release planning, and successful audience engagement in the streaming era,” the researchers wrote. “The series’ ability to generate substantial revenue and drive both subscriber acquisition and retention solidifies its position as a cornerstone of Prime Video’s programming.”
The $279 million does not include advertising revenue generated by the program, so you can add quite a bit to that number.
IndieWire reached out to Amazon Prime Video to request comment on the Parrot Analytics findings, but a spokesperson did not immediately respond to our message. Amazon does not report Prime Video subscriber numbers, but they’re up there. Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime membership ($14.99/month) and also available as a standalone video-streaming service ($8.99/month).
For the first season of “Reacher,” Amazon Prime Video released all eight episodes at once, “which generated an immediate audience for the new series,” the Parrot analysts wrote. The subscriber-acquisition tactic, like the show itself, was a hit, drawing new members to the streamer. “Reacher” became the first Prime Video series to top the Nielsen streaming charts.
For Season 2, the now-established program released three episodes at once (December 15, 2023) before moving to a weekly release. Guess what? That worked too, resulting in the two biggest quarters in revenue (Q4 2023: $41 million and Q1 2024: $94 million) to-date for the series. “Reacher” was the most-watched Prime Video series of 2023, despite the fact that only a handful of the new season’s episodes were even out in 2023.
Since its days as subscriber bait, “Reacher” has matured to also become a powerful retention driver for Prime Video, lowering the platform’s churn (the percentage of subscribers canceling a service). And the sky is pretty much the limit there: Lee Child has written 28 “Reacher” novels and short stories. Doing the math at one book per “Reacher” season…
You get it, it’s a lot of potential Jack Reacher TV on Amazon Prime Video.
Prior to “Reacher,” Tom Cruise was Hollywood’s version of Jack Reacher. The first movie was good, despite the counterintuitive casting of Cruise in the role of a giant. The second “Jack Reacher” movie was about as well-received by fans as the downsizing of Reacher himself. Well, the Prime Video series — and Ritchson’s genetics, diet, and training regiment — rectified all that.
Incredibly, the return of “Reacher” is nowhere near the largest (pun intended) news for Amazon today. Also on Thursday morning, the stewards of 007, Barbara Broccoli and her brother Michael G. Wilson, signed creative control of the James Bond franchise over to Amazon MGM Studios. Perhaps a new Bond is just around the corner.
Source link
