An underrated sci-fi movie is finding a new life on Netflix. It appears that viewers are gravitating towards the film first released in 2018, which received a popular response at the time but largely went unnoticed at the box office.
Now, several years later, it seems to have found an audience via streaming. The film managed to debut on the Netflix Global Top 10 Global Movies chart for the week of May 13-19 at No. 6. The film continued to earn as many as 2.9 million viewers, which can be calculated as 4.9 million viewing hours.
These numbers, which were calculated globally, led to a successful United States debut at the No. 4 spot for the streaming service’s U.S. Top 10 Movies chart. Obviously fans in both the U.S. and around the world are eagerly watching the underrated sci-fi film on Netflix.
This particular film is none other than Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade. The 2018 film mixed a number of genres within a cyberpunk setting and theme. It revolves around Logan Marshall-Green’s character Grey Trace, who becomes quadriplegic after being attacked by four criminals. With his wife dead from the encounter, he finds no choice but to accept the experimental computer chip known as STEM.
The chip, which is embedded at the base of Grey’s spine, allows him complete mobility again. Unfortunately, the chip has a mind of its own, and begins to use Grey’s body to assist in hunting down and killing the criminals. It’s a storyline that’s been compared to the likes of Death Wish, albeit with a sci-fi twist, so it’s no surprise to see that the film has a long shelf life.
It’s quite bittersweet to see the sci-fi movie find so much attention on Netflix. Though it wasn’t exactly a flop, having earned $17 million on a $3 million budget, it’s not exactly comparable to some of Blumhouse‘s other mega successes. Nevertheless, perhaps with time, it will continue to earn its place in the genre.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Netflix’s latest trending titles, including the likes of Upgrade and other such underrated gems. A television series based on Upgrade was previously announced to be in the works, so perhaps this newfound success on Netflix will be the prompt needed to get the ball rolling.