Director Scott Derrickson's horror movie The Gorge has made history for Apple TV+. According to Deadline, it scored the "biggest film launch" of all time for the streamer, surpassing the mark previously held by last year's George Clooney-Brad Pitt vehicle Wolfs. While Apple did not share viewership statistics (such as total hours streamed), it did state that The Gorge helped the streaming service achieve "double-digit growth globally" and "[boosted] new viewers by +80%, weekend to weekend." The film, which did not play in theaters, premiered on Apple TV+ on Friday, February 14th.
"It's been a thrill for all of us at Apple to see the unforgettably original and inventive world Scott has created with The Gorge resonate in such a massive way with audiences around the globe," said Apple Original Films head of features Matt Dentler. "Embarking on this immensely fun, genre-melding ride with our partners at Skydance has been an absolute joy, and we can't wait to watch as even more fans discover the on-screen movie magic of Miles and Anya's captivating performances."
The Gorge stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as two operatives who are assigned the dangerous task of guarding opposite sides of a massive gorge so that none of the threats lurking beneath can terrorize the surface. The catch is that they are not allowed to contact each other for the duration of the mission, which spans an entire year. However, the two attempt to find ways to communicate, building a sweet bond before things take a terrifying turn.
The Gorge earned generally positive reviews, sporting a 64% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The dynamic between Teller and Taylor-Joy's character was seen as a highlight, as people found the love story at the film's core to be touching. In an interview with ComicBook, writer Zach Dean said he would like to develop a sequel and/or prequel to The Gorge and spawn a franchise.
Based on its genre-blending premise, The Gorge sounds like something on-paper that would be enticing to see on the big screen. However, it seems like Apple made the right call by giving the film a straight-to-streaming release. If The Gorge played in theaters, it might have gotten lost in the shuffle; it certainly wouldn't have topped Captain America: Brave New World for the No. 1 position on the box office charts. The release strategy put the film in a better place to succeed. It was able to find a sizable audience at home, giving Apple another notable win this month. News of The Gorge breaking records comes on the heels of Severance becoming the streamer's most-watched TV show ever.
Now that The Gorge is a hit, it will be interesting to see if Dean's plans for follow-ups comes to fruition. Apple was interested in making a sequel to Wolfs before director Jon Watts decided against it, so perhaps The Gorge will become a premier film franchise for the streamer instead. This is also a great development for Derrickson, as it gives him extra clout to pursue more opportunities at Apple should he be looking for a home for whatever he makes next after The Black Phone 2.