Netflix’s Klaus watched by 30 million households
David Farnor | On 21, Dec 2019
Netflix’s Klaus has been watched by almost 30 million households around the world, the streaming giant has announced.
The festive flick follows a failed student from the postal academy, who is stationed on a frozen island above the Arctic Circle, where the feuding locals hardly exchange words let alone letters. There, he he finds an ally in a local teacher and discovers Klaus, a mysterious carpenter who lives alone in a cabin full of handmade toys. These unlikely friendships return laughter to Smeerensburg, forging a new legacy of generous neighbors, magical lore and stockings hung by the chimney with care.
The animated holiday comedy is directed by Despicable Me co-creator Sergio Pablos, and boasts an impressive cast that includes Jason Schwartzman, JK Simmons, Joan Cusack, Will Sasso and Norm Macdonald.
“Netflix’s gorgeously old-fashioned animation is simple and sweet enough to charm the socks off the humbuggiest of viewers,” we wrote in our review.
Since its release in the middle of November, the movie has gone on to be nominated in seven categories at the Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature and Best Feature Direction. It has evidently charmed audiences too, with Netflix revealing this week that almost 30 million households have watched the film in its first four weeks.
The figures, of course, should be taken with a pinch of salt: Netflix’s count for a “viewer” is anyone who completes at least 70 per cent of one episode of a TV series or 70 per cent of a film – an indication, perhaps, of how much time people typically spend watching a single title on Netflix, or of how value attention spans have become in a competitive online age.