Netflix Just Released a Sequel to One of Its Best Movies (And It’s Already a Streaming Hit)

2025 has been a great year for Netflix original movies, and it just got even better. After hitting the ground running with movies like Havoc and Happy Gilmore 2, the streamer has kept the momentum going throughout the year. On the heels of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and KPop Demon Hunters’ record-breaking success, the streamer just released a sequel to one of its biggest movies of all time, and it’s already stomping up the streaming charts.

Troll was a smash hit when it was released on Netflix in 2022, and its three-years-in-the-making follow-up, Troll 2, is following in those giant footsteps. Roar Uthaug’s Norwegian monster film, which sees two dangerous new trolls wreak havoc across Norway, started streaming on Netflix on December 1st and immediately hit the Top 10 charts. The movie reached the No. 1 spot globally just a day after its debut and has been sitting there ever since, per FlixPatrol, outpacing other films like Jingle Bell Heist, The Rats: A Witcher Tale, Champagne Problems, and the original Troll, which round out the Top 5.

Troll 2 Is a Streaming Success Despite Being a Critical Letdown

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We’ll preface this by stating that if you’re looking for an entertaining and action-filled adventure, Troll 2 will not disappoint. The movie is just as wild as the first film and succeeds at expanding on the world of trolls and their lore, but it didn’t necessarily live up to expectations. The movie earned rotten critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes of 58% and 39%, big decreases from the original’s ratings, and has been described as a bland and tedious sequel that lacks the charm and originality of the first.

ComicBook’s Charlie Ridgley gave the movie a 3 out of 5, writing that “The Troll follow-up doesn’t hit the same highs as its predecessor, and visually, it feels like a step down. But to say Troll 2 drops the ball or falls on its face wouldn’t be fair either.” He added that the film ultimately “doesn’t find many ways to feel necessary in the shadow of the first Troll.” Netflix Life called the movie an “unnecessary sequel that surprisingly delivers,” and Blu-ray.com’s Brian Orndorf wrote that “the story feels a little more labored this time around, but there’s still a fun factor to embrace, and, when the movie gets around to it, troll interactions save the feature, delivering welcome action.”

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Even in the face of lackluster reviews, the movie’s streaming success was to be expected given the heights of the first movie, which scored a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and charted 103 million views to become Netflix’s most-watched non-English movie of all time. Anticipation was extremely high for Troll 2 on the back of that success and how great of a monster movie Troll truly is, and so it’s no shock at all that the follow-up is now performing so well.

Will There Be a Troll 3?

With the back-to-back success of Troll and Troll 2, Netflix may just have a creature feature franchise within reach. A third film hasn’t been announced, so it is possible the series will end with Troll 2, but Troll 3 seems very plausible, especially given that the sequel setup another movie.

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