Unfrosted — Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix original comedy movie about the origin of Pop-Tarts — is heating up viewership for the streamer.
Co-written and directed by Seinfeld — who also stars in the film as Kellogg’s executive Bob Cabana — Unfrosted is set in the 1960s amid a battle between cereal giants Kellogg’s and Post to come up with the first breakfast toaster pastry.
A fictionalized movie, Unfrosted also stars Jim Gaffigan as Edsel Kellogg III, Melissa McCarthy as NASA-turned-Kellogg’s scientist Donna Stankowski and Amy Schumer as Post boss Marjorie Post.
Like the fictional story created for Unfrosted, the characters played by Seinfeld, Gaffigan and McCarthy were all invented for the movie. Schumer’s Marjorie Post is based on a real person, but her story is heightened for comedic purposes.
According to Netflix’s Global Top 10 Movies chart, Unfrosted debuted at No. 1 on the streamer with 7.1 million views, which equates to 11.3 million viewing hours. The film debuted on Netflix’s US Top 10 Movies chart at No. 3.
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s romantic comedy Anyone But You finished at No. 2 for the second consecutive week (6.7 million views/11.6 million viewing hours) while director Zack Snyder’s space opus Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (6 million views/12.3 million viewing hours) came in at No. 3 in its third week of release.
The animation and live-action hybrid Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp (5.6 million views/9.4 million viewing hours) was No. 4 on the chart in its fourth week of release, while the documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut (5.4 million views/7.2 million viewing hours) rounded out the top five in its second week of release.
How Was ‘Unfrosted’ Received By Critics And Fans?
Unfrosted didn’t exactly get a warm and toasty reception by Rotten Tomatoes critics, who collectively gave it a 41% “rotten” rating based on 85 reviews.
Viewers were a bit kinder to the fictionalized Pop-Tarts origin tale, giving it a 50% neutral Audience Score based on 500+ ratings.
In addition to its core cast, Unfrosted features dozens of cameos from stand-up comedy greats and film and TV stars throughout the movie.
Among the actors and/or comedians making appearances in Unfrosted are Bill Burr, Cedric the Entertainer and several cast members of Saturday Night Live past and present, including Darrell Hammond and Mikey Day.
Other stars appearing in Unfrosted include James Marsden, Patrick Warburton and Hugh Grant — and Jon Hamm and John Slattery stage a Mad Men mini-reunion in a cameo scene.
Unfrosted is new on Netflix.