The Spiderwick Chronicles is the second adaptation of the children’s book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, The Spiderwick Chronicles has become a massive streaming success for The Roku Channel.
Per Deadline, The Roku Channel has announced that The Spiderwick Chronicles has become the most-watched on-demand title to ever debut on its streaming platform. This includes both Roku Originals and acquired content. While Roku didn’t share viewership numbers, it did report that “millions” had so far tuned in to watch the adaptation, which premiered all eight episodes on April 19. Other Roku records that The Spiderwick Chronicles has broken include having the highest reach and most hours streamed of any title in the platform’s history during both a single day and over an opening weekend.
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“What’s clear is that great IP, great talent, [and] clear titles thrive on the Roku platform,” said Brian Tannenbaum, Roku’s Head of Originals, in a statement. “We believed in Spiderwick for those reasons, and we will continue to make those types of series and films that directly engage with our streamers and can flourish not only inside the Roku channel, but also on the Roku platform.”
Disney+’s Loss Is Roku’s Gain
Announced in November 2021, The Spiderwick Chronicles was originally developed and produced for Disney+. However, after filming had been completed, Disney+ scrapped the series in August 2023 as part of cost-cutting measures. Roku eventually picked up the U.S. rights to the abandoned series that October and released a teaser trailer for The Spiderwick Chronicles the following February.
The Spiderwick Chronicles was previously adapted by Paramount and Nickelodeon into a feature film in 2008, which was based on the first book in the series, The Field Guide. The movie was headlined by Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, and Andrew McCarthy, among others.
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What Is The Spiderwick Chronicles About?
In this darker adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles, the “Grace family moves from Brooklyn, New York, to their ancestral home in Henson, Michigan, the Spiderwick Estate. Helen makes the move with her 15-year-old fraternal twin boys, Jared and Simon, and her older daughter, Mallory. Shortly after moving to the Spiderwick Estate Jared discovers a boggart and realizes that magical creatures are real!” reads the official synopsis. “The only one to believe him is his great-aunt Lucinda who implores Jared to find the pages of her father’s field guide to magical creatures and protect them from the murderous Ogre, Mulgarath.”
The Spiderwick Chronicles stars Joy Bryant as Helen Grace, Noah Cottrell as Simon Grace, Lyon Daniels as Jared Grace, and Mychala Lee as Mallory Grace, with Christian Slater as Mulgarath and Jack Dylan Grazer as the voice of Thimbletack.
All eight episodes of The Spiderwick Chronicles are currently streaming on The Roku Channel.
Source: Deadline
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2024)
- Release Date
- April 19, 2024
- Creator(s)
- Aron Eli Coleite
- Cast
- Christian Slater , Lyon Daniels , Noah Cottrell , Joy Bryant , Mychala Lee , Jack Dylan Grazer
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Aron Eli Coleite
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
- Showrunner
- Aron Eli Coleite
