During any other summer, we’d be breaking down box office numbers for a usually packed movie season and breaking down the winners and losers of the weekend. Although movie theaters are still closed, a number of streaming services have been dropping new releases. And if any movie can pass off as summer blockbuster in 2020 it’s The Old Guard, and the action epic just became one of the most streamed movies on Netflix ever.
The site broke the big news just one week after The Old Guard’s release. The movie has reportedly already made its way into the top 10 most popular Netflix films in the streaming service’s history, per the Twitter announcement. The Old Guard is currently tracking to reach 72 million households in its first month. That volume of viewers qualifies Gina Prince-Bythewood’s flick as the streaming equivalent of a summer hit.
Another win for The Old Guard is that it has also become the first movie to make its way into Netflix’s all-time greats that is helmed by a black female director. Gina Prince-Bythewood has already made history with her involvement in the project, as she's become the first black woman to serve as director for a live-action graphic novel adaptation. With so many audiences’ pressing play, this could give way to more projects helmed by diverse voices. Oh, and how about an Old Guard sequel next, please?
Earlier this week, the streaming platform revealed its top 10 most-viewed films ahead of The Old Guard’s numbers. Extraction, which was released earlier this year, was named the No. 1 Netflix original film to date after reaching 99 million households. At number two was horror phenomenon Bird Box, No. 3 was another 2020 release, Spenser Confidential, 4th place belongs to Michael Bay’s 6 Underground and in fifth place is the Adam Sandler comedy Murder Mystery.
Going off the predicted The Old Guard numbers of 72 million, the movie will make its way into sixth place over Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated drama The Irishman. Rounding out Netflix’s most viewed movies are Triple Frontier, The Wrong Missy, The Platform and The Perfect Date. It's clear the action genre is doing incredibly well for Netflix, giving way for the service to throw its money at a $200 million action-thriller that stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans and will be directed by the Russo Brothers.
Now, we should keep in mind that it is primetime for streaming services to break records, if only because of “the times.” Hulu’s Palm Springs just broke its own big streaming record last week shortly after its premiere. Could both these flicks have been able to boast these numbers in an alternate universe? A rhetorical question, of course (unless you somehow have the multiverse hookup). Either way, this is a big win for the genre film and perhaps for Gina Prince-Bythewood or even its up-and-coming stars KiKi Layne and Marwan Kenzari.
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