Peacock Just Added a Notorious Sci-Fi Flop That Is So Bad It’s Good

December 6, 2025, 2:30pm

Peacock’s streaming catalog already boasts an impressive lineup of sci-fi titles ranging from the surprise box office hit M3gan to the beloved show Continuum, and it now also includes a notorious sci-fi movie flop that is worth watching. The NBCUniversal streamer has had a strong start to December, bringing 10 Cloverfield Lane, Gladiator, and the complete Rocky franchise to the platform. The rush of new arrivals also brought a decade-old 18% Rotten Tomatoes-rated critical disaster to streaming.

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As of December 1st, Adam Sandler’s critically panned sci-fi action comedy Pixels is available on Peacock. In the movie, directed by Chris Columbus from a screenplay by Tim Herlihy and Tim Dowling, aliens attack Earth in the form of the video games after misinterpreting video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, prompting a team of former arcade champions to step up to save the world.

Pixels Is a Perfect Guilty Pleasure Movie

The dismal Rotten Tomatoes 18% critic score and 46% audience rating say it all – Pixels isn’t a good movie in the traditional sense, but it absolutely succeeds as a perfect popcorn movie. The film is one with a fun premise but flawed execution and was panned as a Sandler-esque script filled with bad jokes, plot holes, and illogical content rather than being a compelling sci-fi action film.

The movie is a wasted potential that failed to deliver on a great concept, but it’s still a fun watch and a sheer spectacle of classic arcade games that delivers on nostalgia with homages to Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Centipede, and more. The movie is visually creative with great action sequences and special effects that successfully brought 8-bit video game characters to life in a 3D world, and combined with its humorous and lighthearted tone, it makes for a great guilty pleasure movie that may have been a bit too harshly treated.

That just may be proven by the fact that, despite being a critical failure, Pixels has enjoyed some streaming success in the years since its release. Notably back in June, the film reached the top 5 on HBO Max globally. The movie hasn’t broken into Peacock’s top 10 just yet, but with its status as an infamous flop that is so bad you need to watch it at least once, we wouldn’t be surprised if the film pops onto the streaming charts in the coming days or weeks. In fact, the movie has a track record of being a hit on Peacock, breaking into the Top 10 during its previous streaming period on the platform back in May.

What’s New on Peacock?

Picking a title for your next movie night will be tough with the great new arrivals to Peacock this month. December 1st brought hit movies like 10 Cloverfield Lane, both The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, the Bill & Ted trilogy, The Martian, Pacific Rim, and Unaccompanied Minors to Peacock. Later this month the streamer will add Renfield (December 9th), The Fabelmans (December 11th), and the Saw franchise.