Prime Video’s New Thriller With a Very Surprising RT Score Becomes an Instant Streaming Success

A surprising film is the most-watched movie right now on Amazon Prime Video, despite receiving poor reviews, despite having an outstanding cast and a great director. This is where streaming services like Prime Video and Netflix offer an interesting second chance for movies that struggled to find a market when they were released. At the moment, there are some fun movies on the list, including the new Kevin James and Alan Ritchson comedy Playdate, last year’s Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Christmas movie in Red One, and even a return to the rankings for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

However, surprisingly, the number one movie on Prime Video right now is the Julia Roberts drama After the Hunt, via Flix Patrol. The cast is impressive, with Roberts playing Alma, a respected professor at Yale University, who has a student protégée, Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), who tells her that another professor sexually assaulted her. However, Alma doesn’t believe her, which causes problems. Andrew Garfield stars as the professor accused of the assault, Michael Stuhlbarg as Alma’s husband, and Chloe Sevigny as the student liaison.

Despite it being Prime Video’s most-watched movie right now, it received poor reviews and was a box office failure when released. The film only made $9.3 million on a $70-$80 million budget. It topped out at ninth on the box office list on the weekend of October 17, and never moved higher. It was also critically bashed, with a 37% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Critics said the acting was excellent, with Julia Roberts especially good, but they were mixed on whether the story worked or not.

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After The Hunt Getting Second Chance On Prime Video

It might be better to see After the Hunt getting a second chance on streaming services. Theatrical numbers are down overall, and serious dramas like this have struggled to find an audience with the blockbusters dominating the screens. This is a movie that has some deep issues involved, including sexual assault allegations at a university, and the tendency of even the people tasked with protecting the students often ignoring the signs.

However, Julia Roberts delivered an outstanding performance as someone who was conflicted from the start. Her character made false sexual assault claims when she was young, even though it was still statutory rape. In that case, the person she accused died by suicide, and that makes her unable to trust her student completely. When she has an encounter later that shows the student might be right, it makes things harder on her.

One of the biggest complaints is that there was no concrete answer to the issues of the story. However, that is also the point. There is rarely a genuine resolution, and in nearly every case, it is always he said, she said, and the film shows that frustration. A similar movie released in 2008 called Doubt, which focused on allegations that a priest sexually assaulted an altar boy. That movie also ended without revealing the truth, and it was an Oscar-nominated film.

However, this film was smaller, and this is a different era. A small, contemplative film about a hot-button topic might be a better fit for people to watch from home on streaming. It has worked well for Prime Video, with it becoming a big success. Director Luca Guadagnino has always been interesting, with acclaimed films like Challengers and more polarizing movies like Bones and All. If anything, it might open up conversations about this important issue once again.

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