Zack Snyder mocked for ‘bold’ statement comparing Rebel Moon’s viewership to Barbie

‘He’s really trying to turn its mediocre run into a massive success,’ one person tweeted

Zack Snyder has suggested that “more people probably saw Rebel Moon than saw Barbie in theatre”.

Part one of the director’s two-part Netflix epic was released in December. While it quickly became the streamer’s most-watched title at the time, it was severely panned by critics, who described it as “a borderline incoherent shambles”.

Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie is said to have saved cinemas last summer, with its record-breaking box office earnings of $1.4bn.

58-year-old Snyder made the bold claim that Rebel Moon’s viewership exceeded that of Barbie during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

“You think about Netflix, for instance, where you push a button,” the Justice League filmmaker explained. “Rebel Moon, right? Say right now it’s almost at 90 million views, right? 80 or 90 million accounts turned it on, give or take. They assume two viewers per screening, right? That’s the kind of math.

“So you think if that movie was in the theatre as a distribution model, that’s like 160,000,000 people supposedly watching based on that math. 160,000,000 people at $10 a ticket would be…what is that math? I don’t know. 160,000,000 times ten. That’s $1.6bn. So more people probably saw Rebel Moon than saw Barbie in the theatre, right?”

“That’s how crazy Netflix is,” he continued. “That’s the distribution model that they’ve set up. I was at this thing the other day and we were talking about Rebel Moon 2. And they were like, ‘Well, talk about Rebel Moon the first one.’ I’m like, ‘No, go f***ing watch it. I know you have it at your house.’

“It’s not like a theatre situation. You could turn it on your phone right now and watch it right here if you wanted. That’s how crazy it is. This model, this machine they’ve built is really something else. It’s really crazy if you think about it,” Snyder continued.

“I feel like Netflix told him to say that or told him this information cuz ain’t no way he actually be thinking that,” one person tweeted in response to Snyder’s statement.

“Mate, Rebel Moon wouldn’t have taken $1.6bn if it had been in the cinema,” a second wrote.

A third joked: “After Boy Math, Girl Math and Everythingelse Math … now there’s Zack Math.”

“He’s really trying to turn its mediocre run into a massive success,” someone added, with another labelling his comment “preposterous”.

Rebel Moon – Part One follows Kora (Sophia Boutella) on her quest to seek out warriors from nearby planets to help fight off tyrannical armies threatening her colony.

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scaregiver will be released on Netflix on 19 April.