Following Donald Trump’s announcement of J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday, viewership of the film “Hillbilly Elegy” surged by 1,179% compared to the previous day, according to data from Luminate.
The 2020 Netflix movie, based on Vance’s 2016 memoir of the same title, garnered 19.2 million minutes of viewership on Monday, a substantial increase from the 1.5 million minutes watched on Sunday, when rumors of Vance’s vice presidential candidacy were already circulating.
Monday’s viewership totals equate to an estimated 163,836 views. This figure is derived by dividing the total minutes watched by the film’s 117-minute runtime, indicating that partial views were counted proportionately.
Vance’s memoir gained significant attention upon its release for providing insights into the appeal of Trump among working-class white voters. The film adaptation debuted on Netflix in November 2020 following a limited theatrical release, receiving mixed reviews. Variety criticized Gabriel Basso’s portrayal of Vance, suggesting it lacked dramatic tension, stating, “His people may be haunted by the demons of Appalachia, but he comes off as a yuppie whose life has boiled down to: Will those demons stand in the way of my career path? Not if he won’t let them they won’t. That isn’t quite drama — it’s feel-good therapy.”
Directed by Ron Howard, “Hillbilly Elegy” also stars Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Haley Bennett, Freida Pinto, Bo Hopkins, and Owen Asztalos.
