Cillian Murphy’s 2019 box office flop Anna has found a new lease of life on Netflix. Written, directed, and produced by Luc Besson, the movie is an action thriller focused on a beautiful yet deadly global government assassin. The Anna cast list includes Russian actor and model Sasha Luss, Murphy, Helen Mirren, and Luke Evans. It grossed $31.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million, making it a box office flop.
Now, years after its release, Anna has found success on Netflix. The movie has ascended to the Netflix Top 10 Global Movie list for the week of April 15 to April 21. It ranked as the #4 most watched movie on the platform, with 11.7 million hours viewed and 5.9 million total views. Anna came in behind Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver, Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp, and What Jennifer Did, and above Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire, Glass, The Bricklayer, Hotel Transylvania 2, Damsel, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
One of the reasons for Anna‘s success on Netflix could be attributed to the rising stock of Murphy as a star. Since Anna was released, the actor has seen his critically-acclaimed show Peaky Blinders reach a satisfying ending, co-starred in the successful horror sequel A Quiet Place: Part II, and won an Academy Award for his leading role in Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical thriller Oppenheimer.
Action-thriller movies are often a favorite with audiences because of the fact they present the ultimate form of escapism. Several action movies have succeeded in recent years, including those within the John Wick franchise and 2022’s Bullet Train. However, Anna struggled to make an impact, with many critics deeming it derivative. At the same time, streaming has often allowed overlooked movies the chance to reestablish themselves with audiences, and Murphy’s recent stretch of success could’ve helped kick this off.
The ending of Anna was packed full of twists and turns, and it could have wound up being a strong and successful action thriller, but instead the consensus was that the movie came across as a half-baked rehash of earlier spy thrillers, such as Red Sparrow. However, it could be that Anna was simply a misunderstood movie that struggled to separate itself from what came before, and has now found a new audience through the more relaxed world of streaming.
Source: Netflix