A decade after it was panned by critics, a reboot of an iconic comedy franchise has emerged as a surprise streaming hit on Netflix. The top 10 chart for the most recent week of streaming is topped by some of the most talked about, including The Perfect Neighbor and The Woman in Cabin 10. Sitting just below KPop Demon Hunters is a comedy movie that Netflix subscribers just can’t seem to stop laughing along with.
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Vacation, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s reboot of the National Lampoon franchise, currently sits at No. 4 on Netflix’s top 10 movies chart in the United States for the week of October 13-19. The movie serves as the fifth installment in the iconic ‘80s franchise and a sequel to the Chevy Chase comedy classic National Lampoon’s Vacation and stars Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann, Beverly D’Angelo, Chris Hemsworth, and Chevy Chase in a story about Clark Griswold’s son, Rusty, who surprises his family with a road trip to “Walley World.” The movie ranks higher on the streamer chart than Taken in Plain Sight, The Maze Runner, and Despicable Me 3, but viewership numbers aren’t available.
Vacation Continues a Trend of Underappreciated Bombs Becoming Streaming Hits
At first glance, Vacation is not the most likely candidate for a streaming hit. The movie rebooted one of the most iconic comedy franchises and packed plenty of star power, but it ultimately wound up being a disappointing and largely unsuccessful film that has mostly been forgotten. The movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score certainly isn’t anything to get excited about, sitting at just 27%, and the audience was only slightly more favorable, handing it a 45% rating. Those numbers are far lower than the original film’s 94% critic and 85% audience ratings. Critics panned the film’s uninspired plot that relied too heavily on nostalgia and a script filled with crude and mean-spirited humor.
However, the film is far from the first movie to get a second chance at success with a new audience on Netflix. The streamer has a long history of turning critical and box office flops into massive streaming hits. Such was the case earlier in October when Laura Terruso’s comedy About My Father raced onto the top 10 charts after securing just a 37% critic score and being a commercial bomb. Other films, including Madame Web, Life or Something Like It, and War Dogs, all either performed poorly with critics or at the box office only to later find success once they joined Netflix’s streaming catalog, a trend that likely boils down to an expanded audience reach, curiosity, and social media chatter.
As for how high Vacation will go on the streaming charts, only time will tell. The movie has enough going for it to keep subscribers clicking, including a great cast, more than enough humorous moments to keep you watching, and a great rewatchability factor.
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