A 2000s Video Game Adaptation Unexpectedly Climbs Netflix Charts

Over seventeen years after its initial release, the action thriller Hitman has 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.

Hitman is 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's cast also includes Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko, and Robert Knepper, and it was directed by Under Paris' Xavier Gens.

Are The Hitman Movies Really That Bad?

Gaming's favorite killer for hire somehow starred in two feature film adaptations. Judging on the video game movie curve, are they worth a look back?

Posts

By  Joshua Kristian McCoy

Hitman Appears in Top Netflix Rankings

Not to be confused with Netflix's other successful 2024 assassin movie, Hit Man starring Glen Powell, the rise of 2007's Hitman on 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. Even Timothy Olyphant does not reflect positively on his role in Hitman. However, the film performed better at the box office, making almost quadruple its $24 million budget.

Now Hitman is 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 47 was 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, both Hitman and Hitman: Agent 47 received a more favorable reception from the audience than critics, and earned their budgets back at the box office. Hitman: Agent 47 was even listed as one of the most popular video game adaptations around the world in a 2022 survey. It's clear the appetite audiences have for the Hitman films 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 of Hitman looks like in Hollywood. Both Hitman and the rebooted Hitman: Agent 47 did reasonably well at the box office, but their chilly reception halted any sequel plans. A sequel to Hitman: Agent 47 was reportedly in development, according to Fandomwire, but this was ultimately scrapped during the 20th Century Fox and Disney merger. Hence, it has now been almost ten years without Hitman adaptation.

On the video game side, IO Interactive has continued producing Hitman games, 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, but IO Interactive promised it would come back to Agent 47 when the time is right.

The same can't be said for Hitman's prospects in Hollywood. The most recent talk of a new Hitman adaptation came in 2017 when John Wick's Derek 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 prospective Hitman TV series would see Agent 47 with hair. In 2022, long-time Agent 47 voice actor David Bateson said (via The Gamer) he'd been keeping an eye on the show's development but commented that things with the Hitman TV series seemingly "went dead." The Hitman TV series is still listed as being in development on IMDb, but it hasn't received any updates for some time.

Given Hitman's recent resurgence on Netflix's streaming charts, this could reignite interest in Hulu's Hitman TV series, or even pave the way for a new Hitman film to move into development. There's no doubt video game adaptations have moved into a new golden era thanks to successes like HBO's The Last of Us and Prime Video's Fallout. It's possible a new approach to Hitman could result in an equally favorable adaptation of IO Interactive's video game franchise.

Every Hitman Game, Ranked

With multiple games in the franchise, the Hitman games cover a spectrum of greatness.

Posts 1