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In the last few years, several horror films have stood out and redefined the genre. One of them is 2022’s Barbarian.
While the horror cemented itself as one of the best releases of 2022, it also earned a special place in the genre as a whole. With Zach Cregger at the helm, Barbarian was a critical and commercial success, featuring Bill Skarsgård in a role that was very different from his usual dark characters. Three years later, Barbarian has become a hit on Netflix, shortly after its June 1 release, per Tudum.
For the week between June 2 and June 8, Barbarian debuted in the charts in seventh place. The horror is only available in the U.S., and Netflix doesn’t reveal viewership numbers for individual territories. However, since Barbarian didn’t make it into the global charts, it received less than 2.5 million views, which is the number of the final entry in the Top 10, the animated hit The Wild Robot.
The domestic charts saw Tyler Perry’s new thriller Straw topping the charts, followed by the first two Now You See Me films in second and fifth place, respectively. The animated Bee Movie took up the third spot, with 2012’s Wrath of the Titans landing in fourth place. The Wild Robot charted in sixth place, just ahead of Barbarian. The other three titles were the Spanish thriller A Widow’s Game, French revenge thriller K.O., and Despicable Me 4.
Barbarian follows Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell), a woman who arrives at an Airbnb in Detroit after a big job interview, but realizes the place was already double-booked and occupied by a man named Keith (Skarsgård). As the two agree to share the house, due to it being dark outside, she soon learns the property has a dark secret. The film also starred Justin Long and Matthew Patrick Davis.
Barbarian Was a Massive Critical and Commercial Hit
The horror marked Cregger’s solo screenwriting and directorial debut. The filmmaker had previously worked on two films with Trevor Moore, 2009’s Miss March and 2011’s The Civil War on Drugs, but neither of them was in the horror genre. Barbarian marked a big switch in his career, and it paid off.
Barbarian currently holds a 92% Certified Fresh score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The horror didn’t impress viewers as much, but it still maintains a 70% approval on the Popcornmeter. The horror had a modest budget of between $4 million and $4.5 million, and grossed 10 times as much. The movie ended its theatrical run with $45.3 million worldwide (per The Numbers), becoming a massive hit for Cregger, as well as its distributor, 20th Century Fox.
Barbarian’s new success comes ahead of Zach Cregger’s second directorial effort. His new project is the horror mystery Weapons, which features even more familiar names than Barbarian. The cast includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams, June Diane Raphael, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss as Captain Ed, and more. The film follows the shocking disappearance of multiple children from one class, who mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time.
Barbarian is streaming on Netflix, while Weapons will hit theaters on Aug. 8.
