Summary
Over seventeen years after its initial release, the action thrillerHitmanhas appeared on Netflix’s global Top 10 streaming charts. The film was received poorly upon release in 2007 but has found renewed success on streaming.
Hitmanis an adaptation of IO Interactive’s video game franchise of the same name, which puts players in the shoes of the deadly Agent 47. In the movie, Timothy Olyphant stars as the barcode-branded assassin, who is caught up in a political conspiracy that puts both Interpol and the Russian FSB on his tail.Hitman’scast also includes Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko, and Robert Knepper, and it was directed byUnder Paris’Xavier Gens.
Hitman Appears in Top Netflix Rankings
Not to be confused with Netflix’s other successful 2024 assassin movie,Hit Manstarring Glen Powell, the rise of 2007’sHitmanon the streaming charts comes as something of a surprise. The video game adaptation was reviewed poorly when it was released in 2007 and, to this day, has only 16% on the critics' Rotten Tomatoes meter. EvenTimothy Olyphant does not reflect positively on his role inHitman. However, the film performed better at the box office, making almost quadruple its $24 million budget.
NowHitmanis climbing the charts again, sitting at number nine in Netflix’s Top 10 streaming movies globally with over 4.9 million hours viewed. What’s even more surprising is that the 2015 movie reboot of the franchise,Hitman: Agent 47, is charting even higher and sits at number seven on Netflix’s top rankings for the week, with 5.6 million hours viewed.Hitman: Agent 47was received even worse by critics, with an 8% critical approval rate on the Tomatometer, but managed to find some success at the box office, grossing $82 million. The film starred Rupert Friend as Agent 47 and followed his plot to stop a corporation from creating an army of enhanced killers even more dangerous than him.
As for what could have contributed to the movies' newfound success on Netflix, bothHitmanandHitman: Agent 47received a more favorable reception from the audience than critics, and earned their budgets back at the box office.Hitman: Agent 47was even listed as one of the most popular video game adaptationsaround the world in a 2022 survey. It’s clear the appetite audiences have for theHitmanfilms is stronger than reviews can dissuade and, now that the movies are more readily accessible on a streaming platform like Netflix, the franchise is seeing revived success because of it.
Will There Be More Movies Based on Hitman?
With such a mixed reception it begs the question of what the future ofHitmanlooks like in Hollywood. BothHitmanand the rebootedHitman: Agent 47did reasonably well at the box office, but their chilly reception halted any sequel plans. A sequel toHitman: Agent 47was reportedly in development, according toFandomwire, but this was ultimately scrapped during the 20th Century Fox and Disney merger. Hence, it has now been almost ten years withoutHitmanadaptation.
On the video game side, IO Interactive has continued producingHitmangames, with the most recent mainline entry,Hitman 3, releasing in 2021 to positive reviews. The studio has since taken a break to focus on its upcoming James Bond video game, butIO Interactive promised it would come back to Agent 47when the time is right.
The same can’t be said forHitman’sprospects in Hollywood. The most recent talk of a newHitmanadaptation came in 2017 whenJohn Wick’sDerek Kolstad was attached to write a TV series for Hulu based on IO Interactive’s video game franchise. Some details about the series began to emerge in 2021, with Kolstad revealing one major change to Hulu’s prospectiveHitmanTV series would see Agent 47 with hair. In 2022, long-time Agent 47 voice actor David Bateson said (viaThe Gamer) he’d been keeping an eye on the show’s development but commented that things with theHitmanTV series seemingly “went dead.” TheHitmanTV series is still listed as being in development on IMDb, but it hasn’t received any updates for some time.
GivenHitman’srecent resurgence on Netflix’s streaming charts, this could reignite interest in Hulu’sHitmanTV series, or even pave the way for a newHitmanfilm to move into development. There’s no doubtvideo game adaptations have moved into a new golden erathanks to successes like HBO’sThe Last of Usand Prime Video’sFallout.It’s possible a new approach toHitmancould result in an equally favorable adaptation of IO Interactive’s video game franchise.
