Latest news with #GodsOfEgypt
CNET
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Gerard Butler's Movies Tend to Fly Under the Radar in Theaters, but They're Living It Up in Netflix's Top 10
Each week, Netflix drops a list of the top 10 films and TV shows dominating the platform, and for the week of Aug. 4, two Gerard Butler films appear in the US Top 10 list: 2016's Gods of Egypt and 2023's Kandahar. Butler is a reliable movie star whose career is filled with action and adventure films (and the kid-friendly How to Train Your Dragon franchise), but I didn't realize that his name carried so much weight -- and that he was this prolific -- until I noticed he stars in six films currently available on Netflix right now (and has starred in 10 films in the last five years alone). Those two new releases on Netflix are vastly different: Gods of Egypt is a fantasy action film set in a version of ancient Egypt in which Egyptian deities exist among humans, while Kandahar is a realistic action thriller about a CIA operative (Butler) on a mission in Afghanistan who finds himself hunted by enemy forces after his cover is blown. Both films' popularity seems to defy logic when you compare them with what they're up against. In the past month, huge box office movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Jaws and Jurassic Park dropped on the platform, and yet none of these traditional blockbusters charted after they were added to the movie library. Meanwhile, Kandahar, which grossed just $5 million at the US box office, debuted at No. 6 in the Top 10 last week (and currently sits at No. 2 this week), and Butler is easily the film's most notable star. (On the other hand, Gods of Egypt is a pretty star-studded affair, co-starring Chadwick Boseman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Geoffrey Rush and Rufus Sewell, though the film is considered one of 2016's biggest "box office bombs" for reportedly losing Lionsgate $90 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.) Lionsgate Butler's other films currently on the platform include Plane (2023), London Has Fallen (2016), Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025), and Last Seen Alive (2022). According to Netflix's public top 10 lists, every one of these films entered the Netflix Top 10 when they first arrived on the streamer. While some things about Netflix's algorithms and trends can be a mystery, it seems that one thing is certain: Gerard Butler, no matter what he's in, is a sure bet.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A Game Of Thrones Star's Massive Fantasy Flop Is Getting A Second Life On Netflix
It's been nearly a decade since "Gods of Egypt," the 2016 fantasy epic starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of "Game of Thrones," stumbled into theaters with all the grace and sure-footedness of a mythical lumbering ogre. Panned at the time by both critics and audiences, the movie is nevertheless currently enjoying a second life thanks to its revival by Netflix — which has thrown this dud out to unsuspecting audiences, enough of whom have at least tried it out to push it up to #5 on the streamer's daily Top 10 movies in the U.S. as of this writing. In "Gods of Egypt," Coster-Waldau plays Horus, an Egyptian god who teams up with a mortal thief to save the world from Set, the god of darkness (played by Gerard Butler). Basically, there's melodrama galore, over-the-top battles, and tons of CGI spectacle — which probably explains why the movie only managed to secure a 15% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 193 reviews) and a 37% audience score, from more than 25,000 user ratings. Read more: 6 Apple TV+ Shows That Are So Good, I Wish I Could Enjoy Them For The First Time All Over Again Another Day, Another Netflix Top 10 Oddity This is, nevertheless, a common story where Netflix is concerned. Semi-regularly, a film widely considered a flop resurfaces on the streamer, climbs into the Top 10, and makes you wonder: Who's actually watching this? "Gods of Egypt" is the latest example. It's not that the movie has suddenly gotten better or that the opinion of it has changed over time — it's still a critical disaster — but Netflix has a way of putting older titles in front of millions of subscribers, tempting them with a big-name cast and flashy visuals. Many viewers clearly don't know what they're getting into. Chances are that "Gods of Egypt" snuck into the Top 10 because subscribers either haven't heard of it or barely remember it from its theatrical run, so they give it a shot. But if you're in the mood for a fantasy adventure that's actually worth your time, Netflix does have far better options. Try the Norwegian creature feature "Troll," the Millie Bobby Brown-led "Damsel," or Charlize Theron's action-packed "The Old Guard." All three deliver plenty of spectacle without the baggage of "Gods of Egypt's" fantasy misfire. Read the original article on BGR.
