There’s clearly no accounting for taste after a widely-panned thriller becomes a #1 hit on streaming in 98 countries

When a feature film or television project costs an eye-watering amount of money, the very least that should be expected is some degree of critical acclaim. While that often isn’t the case with big screen blockbusters, it most definitely hasn’t proven to be true with Prime Video’s blockbuster spy series Citadel, either.

Coming at a cost of $300 million for only six episodes, the streaming service is clearly confident enough in the burgeoning franchise to have given the green light to a pair of spin-offs and a second season already, although that bluster may prove to be misplaced if the globetrotting espionage adventure doesn’t live up to expectations in terms of viewing figures.

The knives are already out after critics and fans alike gave Citadel a pasting on its very first day of release, with the epic caper currently boasting a bang average Rotten Tomatoes score of only 50 percent, not the sort of return you’d expect given the level of investment and talent attached at every level.

As an effects-heavy action thriller promising explosions, shootout, romance, and much more besides, though, Citadel has exploded out of the blocks to become the biggest show on streaming this weekend. Per FlixPatrol, the needlessly expensive offering has debuted as a Top 10 hit on Prime Video in a mammoth 115 countries around the world, and it’s soared right to the top spot in no less than 98 of them.

The real trick is keeping that momentum going, so we’ll be curious to see how it fares in the long run.