If five years ago, someone told us that we would be watching the latest MCU film on our phones and laptops, we wouldn’t have believed them. We would have never considered the possibility that a Fast and Furious film would be released in anything but a big screen. Or the fact that there could be a five-hour version of Justice League which people could stream from the comfort of their homes, would be so baffling to us. However, in 2021, this feels like the norm.
For the longest time, we have been associating big-budget action films with theatres. We are used to watching high-octane action sequences translate beautifully on the silver screen. However, this has slowly changed over time. Now, streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video have started sanctioning their own big-budget action films.
This is not even a Covid-19 phenomenon. Of course, there are several films, including MCU’s Black Widow, Disney’s Mulan, and Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, that skipped theatrical release and premiered on OTT because of the pandemic. This gradual shift of action films to the smaller screens is actually a streaming service phenomenon.
The biggest example of this was the 2020 film Extraction. Directed by Sam Hargrave, the film starred Chris Hemsworth and was executively produced by the Russo Brothers. Extraction was a Netflix original, and one of a kind considering how the Russo Brothers and Hargrave worked on films that exclusively released on theatres. This leap of faith paid off, and Extraction quickly became the biggest Netflix film of all time with 99 million views.
Before Extraction, it was Michael Bay’s 6 Underground in 2019, which became an instant hit. An action thriller starring Ryan Reylonds and Melanie Laurent, 6 Underground was viewed by 83 million users, according to the service. The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron was another example of how an action film thrived on an OTT platform. The film was critically acclaimed and trended worldwide on Netflix for weeks after its release. Other examples of successful Netflix action films include Spencer Confidential and Project Power.
Several other streaming sites have started taking a cue from Netflix. Marvel, in association to DIseny+ have released two super-successful series, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Of course, as we mentioned, these aren’t films. However, a studio of Marvel’s stature would never release any of its content on OTT if it did not guarantee success. The fact that WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier became so successful, made it easier for the studios to release Black Widow in both theatres and Disney+ at the same time.
Not only this, the reason we got to watch Zack Snyder’s Justice League is because Warner Bros ordered it for their streaming service HBO Max. After a mediocre Justice League in 2017, this film served as a closure to the fans and an homage to Snyder’s daughter Autumn.
Now, more and more streaming services are sanctioning action films. The latest among them is Zack Snyder’s Zombie action-thriller Army of the Dead. Starring Dave Bautista and Huma Qureshi among others, Army of the Dead will release for a week in US theatres before premiering worldwide on Netflix on 21st. From the first reactions, it seems that the film will be a blockbuster hit.
Other big-budget Hollywood films include Red Notice, starring Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds on Netflix. The same service is also producing The Gray Man which stars Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Rege Jean Page, Dhanush and many more. The spy-thriller will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.
On Amazon Prime, there is the action-horror Narcos Vs Zombies, Fallout, and The Terminal List are among the action films under production. Whereas, Disney+ Hotstar will be action-packed due to Cruella, along with its MCU ventures.
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