We’ve not even reached the end of April yet, but it already looks as though Netflix‘s decision to give the green light to more sci-fi projects than ever is going to reap huge rewards. Not long after Anthony Mackie’s Outside the Wire was announced to have become the platform’s joint tenth most-watched original movie ever thanks to drawing in 66 million viewers in four weeks, Stowaway has become the genre’s latest in-house hit.
Hailing from rising directorial star Joe Penna, who helmed the acclaimed Mads Mikkelsen survival drama Arctic, the pic follows a three-person crew on a mission to Mars, who find themselves faced with an impossible choice. They discover that the titular fourth member of their team has accidentally wound up joining them on their journey, but they don’t have the resources to justify keeping them on board.
It’s a neat premise for a gripping and contained thriller, and the critical consensus has been largely positive so far. Stowaway currently holds a solid 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the slow-burning suspense and performances of the cast coming in for particular praise. Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette are the trio of experienced astronauts, with Shamier Anderson as their uninvited guest.
Despite only being added to the library yesterday, Stowaway is already the most-watched title on Netflix, displacing fellow sci-fi Synchronic from the top spot, and it’ll look to hold onto that position for at least the rest of the weekend. It’s no doubt also hoping to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned Outside the Wire and Korean action comedy Space Sweepers, both of which managed to remain in the upper echelons of the viewership charts for a couple of weeks after debuting.
