‘Back in Action’ Is Officially the Most Streamed Netflix Original Movie of the Year, Despite Its 29% Rotten Tomatoes Rating

The Nielsen Company recently dropped its latest viewing records for the major streaming services. Alongside revealing what the most-streamed movie of 2025 (so far) is, it also unveiled which of Netflix‘s many original movies has been the most successful. As well as streaming some of the biggest theatrical movies of the past few years, and having a healthy number of hidden gems, Netflix has also become renowned for its original movies, which are released directly on the platform. This year even saw Netflix spend big on the Russo Brothers’ The Electric State, which cost a reported $320 million. However, that epic movie has been outdone by an action comedy that critics detested.

According to the report, Netflix’s Back in Action is the streamer’s most-viewed original movie this year. It is not the most-watched film on Netflix in 2025; that honor goes to Despicable Me 4. However, it is the most-streamed movie produced by Netflix. Back in Action was watched for a whopping 5.264 billion minutes in 2025. That number is expected to continue rising as the year progresses. Back in Action marked the Hollywood comeback of Cameron Diaz, who starred alongside Jamie Foxx in the wacky action caper. Released in January, Foxx and Diaz star as Matt and Emily, two former CIA spies who leave their lives of espionage behind to start a family. But when their secret identities are discovered, they are thrown back into a world of danger to protect their family and save the world.

Despite apparently being a hit with audiences, Back in Action was destroyed by critics upon release. The film holds a measly 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. As tends to be the case with Netflix original movies, audiences enjoyed the film far more, as it holds a 60% audience rating. The logic behind the film’s tremendous success on Netflix is unclear. It could be equated to the return of Cameron Diaz, who retired from acting for 11 years to focus on her personal life. It could be the result of Netflix’s perfection of the straightforward action comedy formula, which audiences still adore. Or it could be one overly eager fan who has left the film playing on repeat since it was released in January.

‘Back In Action 2’ Is Expected, But Not Confirmed

When a film is as successful as Back in Action, a sequel almost feels inevitable. However, it doesn’t work the same on streaming as it does for theatrical releases. When a sequel releases in cinemas, studios can rake in a massive box office take for a second time. But streaming services make their money from subscriptions. The people who will likely be watching the sequel are those who have already watched the original film, i.e., people who already have Netflix subscriptions.

That being said, audiences are expecting Back in Action 2 to be announced sometime soon. However, at the time of publication, Netflix hasn’t officially revealed any plans for a sequel.

Back in Action

2
/5

Release Date

January 17, 2025

Director

Seth Gordon

Producers

Beau Bauman, Jamie Foxx, Jenno Topping, Sharla Sumpter, Tim Lewis, W. Mark McNair, Brendan O’Brien, Datari Turner

Source: Nielsen Company (via Screen Rant)