Summary:
- Jennifer Lopez’s latest Netflix title, Atlas, becomes a hit on Netflix despite receiving negative reviews from both fans and critics.
- The film overtakes Madame Web as the most-watched movie on the platform at the moment. Madame Web also bombed at the box office and received unfavorable reviews on the Internet.
- Atlas features a star-studded cast besides Lopez, with Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, and Mark Strong.
Madame Web may have found its worthy opponent for the box-office-bomb-that-later-shines-on-Netflix‘s title in Atlas, Jennifer Lopez’s latest cinematic venture.
“Atlas” might not have wowed critics, but it has certainly captured the attention of Netflix viewers, soaring to the top of the charts shortly after its release.
According to ComicBook.com, the 2024 movie clinched the number one spot on Netflix just two days following its debut, overtaking “Madame Web,” which slipped to second place. Despite a meager 17 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film’s allure proves undiminished on Netflix.
This success marks Lopez’s second triumph on the streaming platform following the notable performance of her action thriller, “The Mother,” earlier in 2023, which amassed a whopping 249 million viewing hours in just the first 6 months.
In “Atlas,” Lopez portrays a gifted yet cynical data analyst who harbors a profound skepticism toward artificial intelligence. The plot thickens as she embarks on a mission to apprehend a rogue robot linked to her mysterious past.
As the situation escalates, she finds herself in a tight situation where trusting AI might be her only chance to avert a looming human catastrophe. The film, directed by the San Andreas luminary Brad Peyton, also features stellar performances by MCU star Simu Liu, alongside Sterling K. Brown, and Mark Strong.
Simu Liu, widely recognized for his role as Shang-Chi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, explores new territory in “Atlas” by embracing a more sinister character. Speaking with CBR, Liu described the experience as “very freeing,” contrasting it with the constraints often associated with lead roles.
“Playing a straight lead character, like a straight man, comes with a lot of rules. It’s a lot of, ‘You can’t do this,’ or ‘You can’t do that,’ or ‘You can’t appear [as] too much of this.’ You’re juggling the thread of the story, and you’ve got to carry so much. I feel like a villain has so much more of a blank canvas in front of them,” shared the Barbie alum.
Despite its lackluster critical reception, with a 17% approval rating from 65 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 38 out of 100 on Metacritic, “Atlas” has found its audience on Netflix. This disconnect highlights a recently recurring theme where films may not perform well critically but still enjoy popular success, particularly on streaming platforms (Looking at you, Madame Web).
