Zack Snyder’s space opera Rebel Moon has been a big success for Netflix, but its position on the streaming charts just highlights how much more successful an earlier Netflix movie was. Retooled from a failed Star Wars pitch, Rebel Moon is a soft remake of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai classic Seven Samurai set in a galaxy far, far away with elements borrowed from Dune, Warhammer, and Heavy Metal magazine. While the movie has been panned by critics, there are plenty of viewers taking a chance on it.
Rebel Moon was supposed to be Netflix’s big end-of-year release, closing out 2023 with a blockbuster aiming to launch a new sci-fi franchise. But it hasn’t been the monster hit that Netflix was hoping it would be. Rebel Moon has been met with impressive viewership, but those viewing figures have been nowhere near as impressive as an earlier Netflix release that’s still trending. All Rebel Moon has done is highlight how much more successful this other movie was.
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Rebel Moon’s Popularity Shows How Massive Leave The World Behind Still Is
While Rebel Moon has been big in terms of viewership, it has already dropped to the #10 spot in Netflix’s top 10 chart. Meanwhile, Leave the World Behind, which dropped on Netflix in late November, is back in front of it and has been trending since its release. Rebel Moon made a big splash in the first couple of days of its release, but that interest is quickly dwindling just a week later. Leave the World Behind, on the other hand, has enjoyed sustained success for over a month.
Why Leave The World Behind Has Been So Popular Since It Released On Netflix
It’s easy to see why Leave the World Behind has been so much more popular amongst Netflix’s subscriber base than Rebel Moon. Its 76% Rotten Tomatoes score is more than three times Rebel Moon’s dismal 24% rating. Audiences are much more likely to take a chance on a movie – and recommend it to their friends – if it’s been warmly received by critics. On top of that, Leave the World Behind deals with the timely theme of the threat of technology, which is a global concern right now.
Both Rebel Moon and Leave the World Behind have a star-studded cast full of great actors, but where Rebel Moon’s performances are notable for their negative traits – Charlie Hunnam’s shaky Irish accent, Ed Skrein’s one-dimensional villain, etc. – the cast of Leave the World Behind (Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke) give fantastic performances that elevate the material. Rebel Moon is essentially just a store-brand version of Star Wars, whereas Leave the World Behind has a hauntingly plausible vision of an apocalypse that’s right around the corner.
