The long-running action war franchise Sniper has been around for over two decades. The first entry, 1993’s Sniper, starred Tom Berenger as expert American gunner Thomas Beckett, alongside Billy Zane as Richard Miller.
Although the original film received poor reviews from critics and audiences, it was a commercial hit and kicked off a franchise of direct-to-video movies that currently includes 11 installments. The latest entry, Sniper: The Last Stand, was released on Jan. 21, 2025 and it didn’t make a splash. However, following its recent release on Netflix, the action film debuted in ninth place on the platform’s U.S. streaming charts, per Tudum.
Sniper: The Last Stand hit Netflix on May 6, a few months after the film’s release on digital. The movie’s success in its first week, between May 5 and May 11, proves there’s still interest in the action franchise, although the movie didn’t have a huge impact during its January release. Since the film is only available in the U.S., Netflix doesn’t provide individual viewership numbers.
Danishka Esterhazy directed the movie from a script by Sean Wathen. The action film brought back franchise veteran Chad Michael Collins, who plays Brandon Beckett, the son of the original lead character Thomas Beckett, alongside Ryan Robbins and Sharon Taylor. Collins made his debut in the action franchise in 2011’s Sniper: Reloaded, the fourth installment, and has been reprising his role in all the subsequent sequels.
«To stop an arms dealer from unleashing a deadly superweapon, Ace sniper Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) and Agent Zero (Ryan Robbins) are deployed to lead a group of elite soldiers in Costa Verde,» the official synopsis reads. «Taking an untested sniper under his wing, Beckett faces his newest challenge: giving orders instead of receiving them. With time and ammo running low, they must overcome all odds just to survive.»
The Sniper Franchise Has Mixed Reviews
All 11 entries in the franchise received mixed reviews, with only the first installment receiving enough reviews for a critics’ and audience score, with 38% and 55% respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes. None of the subsequent entries had enough reviews for a critics’ score and fell below the 50% mark, indicating the audiences mostly gave negative reviews.
Sniper: The Last Stand is no different, with only three reviews from critics, two positive and one negative, and mixed reviews from audiences. However, even with the poor reception, the Sniper franchise continues. On Mar. 18, lead star Chad Michael Collins posted a new video on X confirming that Sniper 12 is in the works.
«Another #Sniper film in the chamber — locked and loaded,» he wrote in the caption. In the video, he revealed that they were halfway through production at the time, confirming that Ryan Robbins’ Zero will also return, as well as other familiar faces. Production ended in late March, with Collins confirming Trevor Calverley would take over as director in a later X video.
Sniper: The Last Stand is streaming on Netflix. The new movie doesn’t have a release date yet.
