The 5th sequel to a 30 year-old actioner you had no clue got 8 in total parachutes in as one of Netflix’s biggest hits

It’s very rarely the best franchises that enjoy longevity, not when the law of diminishing returns sets in eventually. It’s one of the few things no long-running saga can outrun forever, but based on how Netflix subscribers are responding to Sniper: Ghost Shooter, quality doesn’t mean a damn thing when people are willing to watch.

As per FlixPatrol, the run-of-the-mill shoot ’em up has parachuted right onto the platform’s global Top 10 charts after being added to the library in many international markets yesterday. Not only that, but it’s become an instant number one smash hit 18 countries around the world, which is enough to see it debut as the fourth top-viewed title on a planetary scale.

That’s a most unexpected return for what marked the fifth sequel to 1993 Tom Berenger vehicle Sniper, which lay dormant for a decade before suddenly reinventing itself as one of the most prolific properties on the VOD circuit. You wait nine years for one follow-up to come along, and then you end up getting eight between 2002 and 2020. Not only that, but the landmark 10th chapter is in active development as we speak.

Berenger isn’t even involved in Ghost Shooter, though, with Chad Michael Collins and Billy Zane instead tasked with ensuring the safety of a gas pipeline from terrorists. When their allies end up getting picked off one by one, it becomes clear that there’s a mole giving away their location, which forces the dynamic duo into a bullet-riddled hunt to root out the culprit before there’s nobody left.