Almost a quarter of a century after sinking without a trace, a forgotten mystery becomes one of Netflix’s biggest hits

As any fantasy fanatic forced to sit idly by and watch their favorite series go up in smoke despite making a splash on the viewership charts can attest, trying to determine how Netflix’s algorithm works is a fool’s errand, something that’s been reinforced by The Deep End of the Ocean becoming one of the streamer’s biggest hits out of nowhere.

Per FlixPatrol, for reasons we can’t quite ascertain, a box office bomb that released in March of 1999 has exploded in popularity to become the fifth most-watched movie on the global rankings after debuting on the Top 10 in 21 countries around the world. It’s not even as if it’s some sort of unsung gem, either, looking at middling Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings of 43 and 58 from critics and audiences.

Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a mother plunged into a deep depression after her youngest son mysteriously vanishes without a trace, only for her to stumble across a child with a striking resemblance to her son almost a decade later. Teaming up with Whoopi Goldberg’s detective, the pair try to unravel what’s really going on, with her hopes raising increasingly that an emotional reunion could really be on the cards after all hope was long since thought lost.

The Deep End of the Ocean couldn’t even come anywhere near to recouping its $38 million budget from theaters almost a quarter of a century ago, but it’s inexplicably emerged as a seriously heavy hitter on the market-leading streaming service in May of 2023. If anyone cares to take a guess as to why, we’d be happy to hear it.