Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender in “Black Bag.”
Black Bag — a new crime thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender from director Steven Soderbergh — arrives on Peacock this week.
Also starring Pierce Brosnan, Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela and Naomie Harris, Black Bag opened in theaters on March 14 before pivoting to digital streaming on April 1.
The official summary for the movie reads, “Black Bag is a gripping spy drama about legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Blanchett). When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country.”
Black Bag will begin streaming on Peacock on Friday, May 1. Viewers must be a subscriber to the NBC Universal streaming service to watch Black Bag. Peacock offers an an ad-based package for $7.99 per month or $79 per year, as well as an ad-free package for $13.99 per month or $139.99 per year.
Steven Soderbergh Is Disappointed By The Box Office Tally For ‘Black Bag’
Black Bag was a financial disappointment in theaters. According to The Numbers, the film earned $21.7 million domestically and $16.9 million internationally for a worldwide box office gross of $38.3 million against a production budget of $60 million before prints and advertising costs.
The film, however, earned a 96% “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 254 reviews with a Critics Consensus that reads, Sleek in design and spiked with dry wit, “Black Bag is an exemplary espionage caper that lets movie stars like Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender do what they do best — light up the screen.”
Despite the love of the film by critics, Steven Soderbergh — who won a Best Director Oscar for the 2000 Best Picture-nominated crime drama Traffic — admitted in an interview with The Independent in April that he was disappointed that not more moviegoers turned out for the film in theaters.
“This is the kind of film I made my career on,” Soderbergh told The Independent. “And if a mid-level budget, star-driven movie can’t seem to get people over the age of 25 years old to come out to theaters — if that’s truly a dead zone — then that’s not a good thing for movies. What’s gonna happen to the person behind me who wants to make this kind of film?”
While Soderbergh noted in The Independent interview that he was assured by his film’s studio, Focus Features, that “Black Bag will be fine and will turn a profit,” he’s not giving up in finding solution to get audiences in theaters for mid-budgeted movies.
“The bottom line is that we need to figure out a way to cultivate this audience for movies that are in this mid-range, that aren’t fantasy spectacles or low-budget horror movies,” Soderbergh told The Independent. “They’re movies for grown-ups, and those can’t just go away.”
Rated R, Black Bag arrives on Peacock on Friday.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/05/01/acclaimed-spy-thriller-black-bag-coming-to-peacock-this-week/