On Netflix, a little star power goes a long way. There are countless movies that didn’t make much of an impact on the world when they premiered in theaters which have enjoyed a whole other life on streaming, and that’s often thanks to them featuring an A-list actor, whose familiar face convinces subscribers looking for something new to watch to give the title a click.
Case in point: The Equalizer 2, an action pic starring Denzel Washington, which has been dominating Netflix this past month. Having been circulating the Top 10 for the last few weeks, it’s currently sitting at number 11 on the chart of the most viewed films on Netflix across the globe, as per the latest stats from FlixPatrol.
A follow-up to 2014’s The Equalizer, the sequel reunited Washington with director Antoine Fuqua for their fourth collaboration – the other two being Training Day and The Magnificent Seven remake. The films sees Washington play Bob McCall, a former Marine and DIA agent who comes out of retirement to act as a vigilante hero to those in need. The two-time Oscar winner is joined by the likes of Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo.
Fun fact: this is the only sequel that Washington ever made. And, though it came and went without much of a fuss at the time, it actually earned just as much money as its predecessor (around $190 million worldwide). You might think a third outing for Washington would be in the works, then, but instead the franchise has moved onto the small screen. A gender-flipped reboot starring Queen Latifah is currently airing its debut season on CBS.
Denzel Washington was most recently seen in crime thriller The Little Things, which just hit VOD this weekend, and he’ll next show up in the title role in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from Joel Coen. The Equalizer 2, meanwhile, can be found on Netflix in many territories, though it isn’t currently available in the US. It can instead be viewed on FX Now or purchased through Amazon Prime.