Holiday movies have been with us for a while, but we now live in an era of the holiday streaming movie. This year, Hulu managed to land Ben Stiller for their Christmas effort “The Nutcracker,” while Max signed Kiernan Shipka, who played Sabrina Spellman in two seasons of Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” for the Thanksgiving-themed romance series “Sweethearts.”
Since “Sabrina” was canceled due to the global pandemic, Shipka has appeared in the Back to the Future-style slasher comedy Totally Killer, and Roku’s TV remake of “Swimming with Sharks.” 2024 she had small parts in box office record “Twisters” and Oz Perkins’ hit horror effort “Longlegs.” But alongside Nico Hiraga, she stars in “Sweethearts,” from co-writer and first-time director Jordan Weiss.
The film sees Shipka play Jamie, a college freshman who has been friends with Hiraga’s Ben since eighth grade. The two friends are both still in relationships with their high school sweethearts, but make a pact to break up with their partners over Thanksgiving break. Of course, this wouldn’t be a rom-com without some sort of unresolved sexual tension between the two leads, of which there is plenty in this latest holiday streaming offering. All of this seems to be a recipe for success, as “Sweethearts” currently dominates Max’s most watched charts.
Maxpublik has fallen in love with Sweethearts
“Sweethearts” beat up Max on November 28, 2024, and according to FlixPatrola website that tracks viewing data across streaming platforms, made a big impression on audiences. Although it has yet to reach number one in the US, it immediately debuted at number three, where at the time of writing it has remained ever since.
Interestingly, the only country where “Sweethearts” has stayed at number one since its debut is Portugal, which sent the film to number one as soon as it hit the platform, and has held it there ever since. The film also debuted at number one in the Netherlands, but slipped to number two on November 30, where it remains at the time of writing. In fact, “Sweethearts” also managed to debut at number one in Denmark, France, Hungary, Norway, Poland and Sweden, before losing the top spot in the following days. Nevertheless, it remains on the charts in all these countries and more, ranking in 38 countries as of December 3, 2024.
That kind of global attention has meant that on the worldwide charts “Sweethearts” managed to reach fifth place overall, according to the global FlixPatrol Top 10. Which, while not a first place either, is pretty impressive considering this is the chart for all countries.
Can Sweethearts charm their way to the top of the Max charts?
Whether “Sweethearts” can take the top spot in the U.S. remains to be seen, but it currently faces stiff competition in the form of beloved holiday outing “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” at number two and blockbuster and modern holiday classic “Elf” at number one. With all due respect to “Sweethearts,” those are some heavy holiday hitters, so if the movie manages to steal the number one spot, it will be nothing short of a Christmas treat.
Unfortunately, that 53% Rotten tomatoes score doesn’t bode too well for “Sweethearts” moving forward, though festive rom-com “The Holiday” remains one of the most rewatched Christmas movies and it also has a low critic score in the 50s RT. Although “Sweethearts” does not yet have an audience score, the film’s streaming success suggests that viewers will likely be more taken with the rom-com than critics. Additionally, three of the top four critics at RT who reviewed the film liked it, with Chicago Sun Times’ Richard Roeper praises Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga for “delivering winning performances” in a “raunch-com” with true heart.”
Whether “Sweethearts” hits the top spot on Max or not, it’s nice to Shipka, who has previously suggested the door is open for her to play Sabrina againback in a leading role.
