Cameron Diaz is back, and her comeback film is now a major streaming hit. Diaz rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of There’s Something About Mary in 1998. She would go on to appear in a number of hits, either critically or commercially, throughout the early and mid-2000s. Some highlights of Diaz’s acting career include Being John Malkovich (1999), Charlie’s Angels (2000), Vanilla Sky (2001), The Holiday (2006), and, of course, her voice performance as Fiona across multiple Shrek movies.

After starring opposite Tom Cruise in Knight and Day (2010), Diaz appeared in poorly-received movies like Bad Teacher (2011), Sex Tape (2014), and Annie (2014) before disappearing from Hollywood all together. For 10 years, Diaz focused on being a mom and spending time with her family. Now, Diaz is headlining a major movie opposite Jamie Foxx, her break from acting officially over.

Back In Action Is A Global Netflix Hit

The Cameron Diaz Movie Is Succeeding Despite Poor Reviews

Diaz’s first new movie in 11 years, Back in Action, has ascended to become a Netflix global hit. Directed by Seth Gordon, the Netflix action comedy stars Foxx and Diaz as Matt and Emily, respectively, two former spies who are pulled back into the world of international espionage after their real identities are exposed. Back in Action reviews have been generally negative from critics, and the movie has only a 27% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with criticisms aimed at the film’s lack of originality.

Despite the negative reviews, new data from Netflix reveals that Back in Action ranks as the number one movie on the service globally for the week of January 13 – 19. The film has racked up an impressive 88.9 million hours viewed and 46.8 million views in total, the most views in a premiere weekend for a movie since 2022’s The Adam Project.

Back in Action reached the number one spot in 85 countries, the most since Extraction 2 (2023). Included among these countries is the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, the U.K., Ireland, Portugal, and Japan. The film is also in the top 10 in 93 countries. On the top 10 list, the film beats both The Secret Life of Pets movies, and, interestingly, Knight and Day. Check out the full top 10 below:

Netflix Global Top 10 (Jan. 13 – 19)

1
Back in Action

2
The Secret Life of Pets 2

3
The Secret Life of Pets

4
Knight and Day

5
Carry-On

6
Despicable Me 2

7
Ma

8
Sonic the Hedgehog

9
Despicable Me

10
Eye for an Eye

What Back In Action’s Success Means For The Movie

The Action Comedy Continues A Disappointing Netflix Trend

Although the movie may not be charming critics, it does seem to be faring a little better with audiences. The Popcornmeter score for Back in Action on Rotten Tomatoes is a more respectable 62%. Still, though, this score is decidedly lukewarm overall, and it suggests that the Back in Action cast, which includes Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, and Kyle Chandler, isn’t making up for the flaws in the movie’s execution.

All of these movies were criticized for feeling relatively hollow and disposable, and all were major viewership hits.

Back in Action has been received in a similar way to Netflix original blockbusters like Red Notice (2021), The Gray Man (2023), and Heart of Stone (2023). All of these movies were criticized for feeling relatively hollow and disposable, and all were major viewership hits. Back in Action is further proof, then, that a movie doesn’t necessarily have to be good in order to become a Netflix hit.