Why Mark Wahlberg’s Lone Survivor Continues To Be So Popular 10 Years Later

Lone Survivor was a big hit in 2013 and continues to be a success among audiences ten years later. One of the highest grossing war movies ever made, Lone Survivor loosely tells the true story of Navy SEALs Marcus Luttrell, Michael P. “Murph” Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matthew “Axe” Axelson, and their horrific experiences while attempting to find Taliban leader Ahmad Shah in Afghanistan. American audiences tend to engage with war movies because the genre’s depiction of bravery, honor, and duty firmly reminds viewers of the immense struggles combat veterans endure to preserve the nation’s freedoms and liberties.

Although there exists a number of popular war movies, Lone Survivor stands out among many of them because of how it handles its source material. While Luttrell and his fellow Navy SEALs are en route to locating Shah, their cover is blown, thus leading to them engaging the Taliban in a brutally disproportionate gunfight along Afghanistan’s mountain ranges. Ten years after the movie’s release, Lone Survivor has found new success on Netflix, thus leading to discussions about how or why the spotlight has lingered on the movie for so many years.

Lone Survivor Is One Of Mark Wahlberg’s Best Movies To Date

Lone Survivor Trending On Netflix Has Restored Its Popularity

Typically known for his larger-than-life, heroic roles, Wahlberg plays Lone Survivor’s Luttrell, a hospital corpsman who initially isn’t as bold and assertive as many of the actor’s other roles. However, Wahlberg convincingly sheds his tough-guy image in a role that sees him expertly display bravery and valor in the face of insurmountable odds. Moreover, his chemistry with his co-stars not only sells the action, but it firmly reinforces one of the movie’s biggest themes of camaraderie in the face of certain defeat.

With an excellent supporting cast consisting of Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster, one of the other aspects that made Lone Survivor thrive in 2013 and even today is the movie’s unforgettable depiction of brotherhood. Whereas other war movies have been approved by veterans for their accurate depictions of the often dismal situations soldiers encounter, Lone Survivor separates itself from many of them by telling a story that is ultimately uplifting and inspiring, despite its challenging and borderline depressing subject material.

How Lone Survivor Became A Box Office Hit In 2013

Lone Survivor’s Themes and Unique Release Strategy Helped Make It A Box Office Hit In 2013

Having grossed over $150 million on a budget of just $40 million, Lone Survivor is easily one of Wahlberg’s most commercially successful movies to date, and with many of Lone Survivor‘s reviews being positive, it’s also one of his most acclaimed works. One of the elements of the film that contributed to Lone Survivor‘s commercial success was director Peter Berg’s acute attention to detail while telling Luttrell’s story. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience in 2021, Luttrell opined that one of the reasons for Lone Survivor‘s success could have stemmed from Berg’s emphasis on accuracy and authenticity.

In addition to the careful filmmaking efforts, Berg developed a unique release strategy that consisted of screening the movie to prominent American football players in order to generate word-of-mouth hype, and applying the platform release strategy that consisted of releasing Lone Survivor in smaller domestic theaters before releasing it worldwide in larger venues. These strategies boosted its Academy Awards appeal, thus generating even more hype and ensuring more viewers would see it, and it contributed to Lone Survivor going down in history as one of the best war movies of the last decade.

Sources: Joe Rogan Experience, The Wall Street Journal, and Deadline.com