With the popularity of streaming services now so universally ubiquitous, a growing slate of original films funded by companies like Netflix, Apple, and Amazon are slowly becoming just as culturally significant and lucrative as the traditional cinematic experience we all know and love. Indeed, one original movie released way back in 2018 made waves and broke records — and the specific record still remains unbroken to this day.
That’s right, the film in question is Netflix’s Bird Box, which has the third most hours viewed in its first 28 days on the streaming platform with an eye-catching 282,020,000 hours (H/T, Top10Netflix). Even after almost four years, and a global pandemic, Bird Box still holds on to this extraordinary achievement. Pretty impressive, no?
Directed by Susanne Bier, Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic thriller that centers on an invisible extraterrestrial threat that cause their victims to commit suicide in violent ways. The trick to it all, however, is that you’re only truly doomed if you’re one of the unlucky few who lay your eyes on said entities. Cue: lots of blindfolds, closed eyes, and characters groping their way through the darkness.
While Bird Box remains one of the most watched films on Netflix, critics were also pretty impressed with the suspense-driven horror pic. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, Bird Box boasts a solid 64% critical approval rating and a 57% audience score, which is actually fairly respectable for a horror film. Why? Well, it’s fair to say that the horror genre largely tends to skew lower on average than other “more serious” genres.
Of course, much of Bird Box’s popularity can be attributed to the star power of Sandra Bullock who is an iconic and recognisable face in Hollywood. From hugely popular rom-coms like Miss Congeniality and The Proposal to action classics like Speed and Demolition Man to animated family pics like Minions and The Prince of Egypt, it’s safe to say that Bullock is an emblematic actress with charisma and magnetism in spades, especially when she opts for a nail-biting horror role like Bird Box which is an unusual choice for the Ocean’s Eight star.
But what say you? Did Bird Box resonate with you? Or did you loathe it? Grab your blindfolds and let us know in the usual place down below.
Featured Image Source: Netflix
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