Netflix’s New Mystery Movie With Avengers Star Becomes Top 3 Streaming Hit With Millions of Views

This Mother’s Day featured a tightly contested race at the box office, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 narrowly edging out Mortal Kombat II for the top spot. There were also plenty of viewing options to check out at home. Netflix has been on a roll of late with its originals, as many of those titles have topped the streamer’s charts. Over the past month, subscribers have been treated to the creature feature Thrash, the animated family film Swapped, and the action thriller Apex. Arriving perfectly timed for Mother’s Day was Remarkably Bright Creatures, a new mystery drama starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman. Like so many recent Netflix originals, it instantly found success.

For the week of May 4th-10th, Remarkably Bright Creatures was the No. 3 film on Netflix globally. During that time, it accumulated 10.4 million views and was watched for a total of 19.7 million hours. It trailed only Apex and Swapped on the chart. This was Remarkably Bright Creatures’ first week placing in Netflix’s top 10.

Why Remarkably Bright Creatures Is a Streaming Hit on Netflix

Remarkably Bright Creatures is based on the novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt. The book was a New York Times best-seller and received multiple accolades, so the film was drawing from acclaimed source material. Considering how popular the novel is, there was probably a lot of interest in seeing the story come to life on screen. It also didn’t hurt that Remarkably Bright Creatures earned positive reviews. The film has a Certified Fresh score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with much of the praise being given to star Sally Field and director Olivia Newman’s approach. It’s common for movies with mixed reviews to become streaming hits, but knowing Remarkably Bright Creatures was well-received gave the viewership numbers a boost.

Netflix was also smart to release Remarkably Bright Creatures over Mother’s Day weekend. The story revolves around the bond that forms between Tova Sullivan (Field), an aging aquarium cleaning lady, and Cameron Cassmore (Pullman), a down-on-his-luck 30 year old who becomes friends with Tova after he takes a job at the aquarium. As Cameron searches for the father he never knew, Tova becomes a motherly figure to the troubled youngster, so the film has several feel-good qualities that make it the ideal film for families to watch together. As a new release, Remarkably Bright Creatures probably would have done well at any point in the year, but Mother’s Day was the best window for something like this.

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Remarkably Bright Creatures also has a unique hook that makes it stand out. An octopus named Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina) is actually the film’s narrator, meaning the story is told from a distinct perspective that can be both humorous and insightful. Marcellus is more than just an amusing side character; he’s a vital key to the narrative. He’s the one attempting to solve a mystery that could help Tova move on and find closure from tragedy she has endured. The mystery element is something that reels viewers in, as they want to see what happens. It helps elevate Remarkably Bright Creatures by adding a little extra to the Tova/Cameron dynamic.

Even though Mother’s Day has now passed, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Remarkably Bright Creatures stick around the Netflix top 10 for a few weeks. The streamer’s recent originals have proven to have some staying power; Thrash was in the global top 10 for four weeks before it fell off, and Apex just enjoyed its third week at the top of the charts. Since word of mouth is mostly positive, viewers should continue to check Remarkably Bright Creatures out for a little while longer.

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