This Sci-Fi Movie Surprisingly Took ‘The Gray Man’s Spot On Netflix’s Top 10

It seemed like smooth sailing for The Gray Man on Netflix’s Top 10 charts, as the $200 million action flick spent its first eight days in the #1 position. But it wasn’t long until The Gray Man gave away the top spot—and now it’s getting worse. And you might be surprised by the movie that’s beating it in the rankings.

Over the past three days, Purple Hearts has dethroned the big-budget thriller starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas action film from the #1 spot. As I wrote about yesterday, that’s surprising for a film with such a high price tag. In the past, high-budget movies like Red Notice, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and Project Power have performed quite well and had no problem retaining the top spot.

And today, Men in Black 3 pushed The Gray Man down even further into the rankings. Here are today’s Top 10 results for movies on Netflix:

Top 10 Movies on Netflix: August 2, 2022

1. Purple Hearts
2. Men in Black 3
3. The Gray Man
4. Sing 2
5. The Age of Adaline
6. The Wretched
7. Spider-Man 2
8. Tower Heist
9. The Sea Beast
10. Recurrence

Men in Black 3 was seen as a return to form back in 2012, as the film earned a healthy 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (much better than Men in Black II’s 39% rating). Plus, the third film in the trilogy raked in $624 million at the box—which is more than any of the films in the series (including the reboot).

But still…it’s hard to believe that Men in Black 3 could beat out The Gray Man—which is a brand new movie on the world’s biggest streaming platform starring some of the most prominent actors in Hollywood. And it’s the most expensive movie that Netflix has ever produced. Other the other hand…this is the first time any of the Men in Black movies have appeared on the Top 10 list. So what gives?

When we look deeper at The Gray Man’s numbers, however, it becomes less and less surprising that it’s performing so poorly. As I said before, The Gray Man Netflix’s most expensive movie to date, tied with Red Notice. But Red Notice was able to rake in $148.72 million hours of watch time in its first week, while The Gray Man could only muster 88.55 million—that’s less than Red Notice got in its second week (129.11 million hours).

It seems those watch time hours correlate with Top 10 performance. Red Notice had a 12-day streak in the #1 position compared to The Gray Man’s eight days. Plus Red Notice was able to stay on the U.S. charts for 52 straight days—one of the best streaks ever. While it looks like The Gray Man has already begun its descent.

So will The Gray Man hold on? Or will the decline come rapidly? Once Netflix posts its watch time hours this week, we’ll have a better idea. But for now, it seems like aged blockbusters like Men in Black 3, Spider-Man 2, and Tower Heist have a better shot at claiming the top spots on Netflix’s charts.