Nyad, by all accounts an acceptable biopic about swimmer Diana Nyad, is not the best biopic of the year by a long shot, but rather a showcase for two world-class actresses. Their performances centered around a suitably uplifting sports story have drawn a decent chunk of Netflix user attention. However, Five Nights at Freddy’s, the virally successful video game adaption, clouds the release of Nyad. While one movie has the upper hand in quality and significance, the value of IP-driven films, undercut by the difficulty of programming decisions, wins this round again.
The Story Behind Nyad
Based on Diana Nyad’s autobiography, Nyad depicts the infamous story of the long-distance swimmer as portrayed by Annette Bening. Nyad sought to cap her famed record-setting career from the 1970s by swimming from Cuba to Florida, making several attempts after passing age 60. Supported by her close friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll, Nyad risked the dangers of the open ocean to embark on the over 48-hour marathon journey.
The True American Success Story Appeal
Inspirational biography films counterbalance the sad, more honest portrayals of history like Schindler’s List for crowd-pleasing, easy-to-swallow streaming experiences that can still provide some thrills. This year, Air brought sheer entertainment to its Air Jordan origin story, while Cassandro showed the grit and moving hardships in the exótico’s life. Nyad has less of these two qualities but mostly makes up for it through Bening and co-star Jodie Foster’s acting magnetism. Nyad’s physical and mental fortitude to undertake the lengthy feat of the film would be difficult to portray for a fit 30-year-old, so someone effectively capturing the memorable icon in their 60s should be commended for going all the way in their depiction.
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in ‘Nyad’
The Five Nights at Freddy’s Legacy’s Shadow
The Internet’s most hyped-up and discussed fall film release comes right before the Oscar grabbers typically schedule their slots, looming over critical favorites deep into November. Just before Halloween, Universal and Peacock simultaneously released Five Nights at Freddy’s in theaters and streaming, but even a standard release would have yielded similar success. The marketing and pre-existing crowd, something Nyad has far less of on both counts, proves that the 21st-century formula of IP films needs no adjustment, remaining the most valuable property of the film and streaming industry.
The Challenge of Release Slating
Netflix and Nyad‘s mistake in competing with Five Nights at Freddy’s shows its underestimation of this formula’s power, even with a simultaneous counterprogramming of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to balance the IP attention. Putting an ineffective theater release before Halloween weekend with a streaming date the week after meant minimal, spread-out marketing and a comparatively deadened impact on Internet engagement. Apple Films wisely delayed the release of Killers of the Flower Moon after learning their original theater date would coincide with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour; this kind of gambit amid a highly inflexible confluence of events shows the thinking Netflix should heed in the future.
On its own, Nyad is a surprisingly wishful biopic portrayal, considering it is the narrative debut of recent award-winning documentarians. Admittedly, the movie comes with further poor timing due to inquiries into the validity of Nyad’s record. Nevertheless, the lack of conflicting, unbiased views in the story tames the experience separate from this real-world drama. Bening and Foster make Nyad worthwhile enough, but the lesser success has nothing to do with quality issues; the hype for Five Nights at Freddy’s needs to quiet down before movies like Nyad will have a chance at widespread streaming popularity.
Nyad is streaming now on Netflix.