Netflix turned down the chance to buy ‘Holmes & Watson’ because it was so bad

The Sherlock Holmes comedy isn't receiving the best reaction....

Netflix reportedly turned down the chance to buy Holmes & Watson, after poor test screenings meant that Sony was keen to offload the ill-fated movie.

The Sherlock Holmes comedy, which stars Will Ferrell and John C.Reilly, has received overwhelmingly negative reviews since it was released on Boxing Day – along widespread reports of audience walkouts. 

But it now seems that Sony may have had an early indication that it wasn’t going to be a hit. According to Deadline, the studio made an audacious attempt to offload it to Netflix after test screenings in America resulted in widespread negative feedback.

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However, Netflix subsequently passed on the chance to release it themselves – despite previously picking up the likes of Mowgli and The Cloverfield Paradox from Warner Bros and Paramount.

“We had heard for quite some time that test scores for Holmes & Watson were so bad that Sony tried unloading the movie to Netflix, but the streamer wouldn’t buy it,” Deadline wrote.

“The Culver City lot kept the movie and opted to do the best that it could do with it, selling down its share on the movie with Mimran Schur Pictures taking a minority stake.

Holmes & Watson cost $42M net, per the studio, and if this film has any shot of making its money back, it has to be stateside and in English-speaking territories offshore (maybe Germany), which is where comedy works.”

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Neither Netflix or Sony are yet to respond to the claims.

Last week, it was revealed that Netflix is developing their own Sherlock series – which will reportedly focus on the gang of street children who helped the fictional detective solve some of his trickiest crimes.

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