In Time has become an unexpected hit on Netflix 12 years after its release. The 2011 sci-fi movie, which was written and directed by Gattaca‘s Andrew Niccol, starred Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Cillian Murphy. In Time is set in a world where humans don’t age past 25 years old. At that point time is then used as currency, and they spend or earn the remaining years of their life, meaning that the rich live unnaturally long and the poor typically can’t afford to live far beyond their 30s.
Netflix has announced their Top 10 highest performing English-language movies for the week of September 18 through September 24. The Cillian Murphy sci-fi movie placed shockingly high on the chart, taking No. 3 thanks to 5.7 million viewers accruing a total of 10.4 million hours viewed despite a dismal 37% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This is the second time the movie has spent a week on the Netflix chart, though the first time took place before 2023, so the weeks are not consecutive.
The In Time Cast Is Even More Famous in 2023
One possible reason for In Time exploding back onto the Netflix chart is the fact that the ensemble cast of the movie is star-studded. While the stars were buzzy at the time, they have gone on to even bigger success since appearing in the sci-fi movie. This includes Timberlake, who was nominated for an Oscar for his song “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” which was written for the movie Trolls. Timberlake has starred in the entire Trolls trilogy, which will be reuniting his iconic boy band *NSYNC for the soundtrack of the upcoming Trolls Band Together.
His co-star Amanda Seyfried has also achieved incredible success in the intervening years. She followed her 2021 Oscar nomination for David Fincher’s Mank with an Emmy win for her role as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. Cillian Murphy has also risen in prominence since his role in In Time, as he is the star of Oppenheimer, which became one of the buzziest movies of 2023 when it opened alongside Barbie on July 21, kicking off one of the most robust box office periods since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down theaters in early 2020.
The remainder of the In Time cast is also filled out with prominent names. This includes future Magic Mike trilogy star Matt Bomer and future Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde. Their combined might likely drove interest toward the movie, in addition to the high concept that made it a box office hit in 2011 despite its bad reviews.
