Liam Neeson's $71 million action film appears in the top 10 on Netflix in the US, 9 years later

Liam Neeson
He may not have started out as an action star, but he's certainly considered one now. Although Neeson's career in the 1990s and early 2000s saw some action films, including Rob Roy (1995), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Batman begins (2005), he was equally known for non-action roles in projects such as Schindler's List (1993) and True love (2003). Neeson's career changed, however, after the release of Taken in 2009.

Taken spawned two less successful sequels, but also set Neeson on a unique action path. Neeson became the main figure in several mid-budget action filmswith films often built around their cast. Notable entries in Neeson's action career include films such as Unknown (2011), The gray (2011), Non-stop (2014), A walk among the tombstones (2014), Cold Pursuit (2019), The ice road (2021), and In the land of saints and sinners (2023). Many Neeson action films come and go with little fanfare, and that was the case with one 2015 film.

Run All Night becomes a Netflix hit

Liam Neeson's action film beats some major titles on Netflix's top 10 list

Run all night became a huge hit on Netflix's US Top 10 list nine years after its release. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Run all night stars Neeson as Jimmy Conlon, a mob enforcer who finds his loyalties divided between his estranged son and his best friend, mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). The 2015 action thriller received mixed reviews from critics and, with an estimated budget of US$50 million, it grossed just US$71 million worldwide, becoming a commercial disappointment.

Now, however, Netflix data reveal that Run all night is ranked as the fifth most popular film on the service in the US for the week of December 2-8. The action thriller outperforms titles like Small (2019), Mary (2024), and Transformers (2007), but falls short of others such as Faster (2010), That Christmas (2024), Subservience (2024), and firstly, Our little secret (2024). Check out the full list of top USA below:

What Run All Night's Netflix success means for Liam Neeson

Why the actor continues to attract audiences

Combined with a lackluster box office result Run all night has an average score of 59% on Rotten tomatoes of critics and 56% of the public. The fact that the film, which also stars Ed Harris, Common, Vincent D'Onofrio, Joel Kinnaman, and Boyd Holbrook, is now finding success on Netflix, however, speaks to Neeson's enduring power as a leading man. Even though it is not always enough to bring the public to the cinemas, your face on a poster (or streaming tile) is a sign that audiences want at least one decently entertaining action movieif not an acclaimed one.

Neeson, now 72, has revealed that he plans to retire from action films in the near future, citing his age and the fact that, at a certain point, it simply isn't believable anymore. If Neeson's action films stop, there is now a long list of films that audiences can revisit that will live on through streaming services. Run all night It may not be a masterpiece, but is a serviceable thriller with a credible performance from Neeson and some compelling action scenesand maybe that's all it needs to be.

Source: Netflix