Sylvester Stallone’s Franchise-Killing Box Office Bomb Is Now a Netflix Success, 3 Years Later

Sylvester Stallone is no stranger to franchises. He’s the face of the Rocky and Rambo series, headlining several installments across multiple decades in each. He’s also lent his talents to the Marvel and DC universes, appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy movies and The Suicide Squad for James Gunn. Back in 2010, Stallone added another franchise to his ledger when he assembled a team of action stars for The Expendables, a fun throwback to a bygone era that didn’t earn the best reviews (41% on Rotten Tomatoes), but performed well enough at the box office to spawn multiple follow-ups. The series continued into the 2020s, but flamed out after Expend4ables bombed at the box office ($51.1 million worldwide). Years later, it’s finally finding an audience on streaming.

For the week of February 16th-22nd, The Expendables 4 was the eighth-most-watched film on Netflix globally, ahead of Wrath of the Titans and Rumble. During that time frame, Expendables 4 accumulated 2.9 million views and was watched for a total of 4.9 million hours. This was the film’s first week ranking in Netflix’s top 10.

Why Expendables 4 Is a Streaming Hit on Netflix

What makes Expendables 4‘s performance on Netflix so impressive is that it was only added to the platform on February 20th (along with the previous three films), meaning it racked up nearly 3 million views in just a couple of days. Since it’s such a recent addition to Netflix’s library, it will likely stick around in the top 10 for at least a couple of more weeks, perhaps moving up a couple of places as more people get a chance to watch it. Subscribers are inclined to check out new arrivals shortly after they arrive, giving those titles a popularity boost.

Interestingly, The Expendables 4 is the only franchise installment in Netflix’s top 10 for the week. That means subscribers are favoring it over the other three films, which is somewhat curious. The reasoning for this could be because Expendables 4, the most recent one, was the one that fared the worst in theaters; after skipping it on the big screen, Netflix subscribers are now taking advantage of the opportunity to catch up on streaming. If someone has seen the other three but never got around to watching the fourth film, they theoretically could be inclined to cue that one up first. It’s quite common for box office bombs to find a larger audience on streaming since it’s easier to get people to push play at home as opposed to buying a ticket.

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Data isn’t available for what ranked 11-15 on Netflix last week, but it’s possible some of the other Expendables films are doing fairly well on the platform. After watching one (or more), subscribers could be interested in what the rest of the series has to offer. Die-hard Expendables fans also have an opportunity to have their own marathon of the full franchise. And while The Expendables famously features many action icons of the past, some members of the ensemble are still active. Jason Statham continues to make new movies, and some of his older films have done well on streaming themselves. Action fans could just be interested in watching more of Statham.

Expendables 4 is certainly no critical darling (series low 14% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it still has some things to offer for action fans, including a game performance from Statham and typically hard-hitting set pieces. Unless someone is already on board with the franchise, they’re unlikely to find much to enjoy here, but the Expendables movies always knew their target audience and crafted experienced catered to that demographic. In many ways, Expendables 4 is the perfect kind of movie to become a hit on Netflix. It’s a serviceable enough action flick that people can put on to wind down at the end of a long day.

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