The Old Guard Cracks the Netflix All-Time List One Week After Premiere

Netflix delivered subscribers The Old Guard just last week, but the streaming service has revealed [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Netflix delivered subscribers The Old Guard just last week, but the streaming service has revealed that the comic book adaptation has already become one of their most-watched films, with the service claiming that it could earn 72 million views in its first four weeks on the service. With the world being caught in a quarantine and with no movies landing in theaters, surely more viewers are checking it out than potentially would have without these unique circumstances, but given the number of films available to audiences, this is still an impressive feat, made all the more exceptional by this marking the first time a film directed by a Black woman has cracked the top 10.

"The Old Guard is breaking records! The Charlize Theron blockbuster is already among the top 10 most popular Netflix films ever — and Gina Prince-Bythewood is the first Black female director on the list," Netflix shared on Twitter. "The film is currently on track to reach 72M households in its first 4 weeks!"

In the film, "Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it's up to Andy and Nile (KiKi Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights), The Old Guard is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks."

Some fans were already familiar with the narrative due to the two released comic book series from Rucka, with the writer having previously teased that he aimed to deliver three total books in the series. In this regard, fans are already gearing up for a possible sequel or spinoff film.

"It'll be based on the graphic novel," Prince-Bythewood explained to Games Radar of what she'd like to do with a sequel. "In terms of what Greg [Rucka] has written, Quynh has reared her head, and that causes some issues, absolutely. But also, there's a very grounded story tackling problems within the world, which again brings more villains that are not with immortality, so it's a really cool balance between the two, in the graphic novel."

The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix.

Have you checked out the film yet? Let us know in the comments below!

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