Cruella trailer scores 71 million views in first 24 hours of release

Disney caused a stir last week when it released the first trailer for the highly anticipated Cruella.

The trailer was watched 71 million times across all platforms in the first 24 hours, according to a report from Deadline.

While the numbers have beaten other Disney hits such as Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (61.7 million views) and Aladdin (60.8 million), it is still far from the all-time record.

Disney holds the top four spots in most viewed movie trailers of all time, with the first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame leading the way with 289 million views.

The second trailer for Avengers: Endgame came in second with 268 million views, followed by the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War with 230 million views and the live-action remake of The King. Lion with 224.6 million views.

Most recently, Disney’s live-action Mulan remake garnered 175 million views on day one, although that was before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the film industry in more ways than one. .

Cruella also garnered an impressive 265,000 social media mentions, overtaking both Aladdin (228K) and Beauty and the Beast (154K), which garnered 127.6 million views of its first trailer.

Much of the conversation on social media has revolved around controversial comparisons between Emma Stone’s main character and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker movie.

It remains to be seen whether or not these impressions on social media will translate into big box office dollars, with Disney setting Cruella’s release date on May 28, positioning it in the all-important Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Yet with around 53% of North American theaters closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruella’s success certainly depends on the number of theaters open by the end of May, as COVID-19 vaccines continue to be deployed.

Many were wondering if Cruella would get a hybrid release in theaters and on Disney Plus with Premier Access, as the studio does with Raya and the Last Dragon on March 5.

However, the studio has made no indication of a hybrid release on Disney Investor Day, although it remains to be seen whether theaters in major markets like Los Angeles and New York will be open by then.

Cruella is set in 1970s London, as Stone’s character Estella de Vil, who finds herself in the midst of the punk rock revolution as she tries to make a name for herself with her unique creations.

She befriends a pair of thieves, Boris (Mark Strong) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) as her designs grab the attention of fashion legend Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson).

This relationship defines a chain of events that leads to Estella’s transformation into the evil Cruella de Vil.