A Villainous Will Ferrell Movie Is Taking Over On Streaming
Will Ferrell's Megamind is sitting at number seven on Netflix this week.
Will Ferrell has absolutely dominated streaming charts lately. Recently, his 2015 comedy Daddy’s Home, which co-stars Mark Wahlberg, made its way into the top 10 on Paramount+, and now another one of Ferrell’s features has landed in Netflix’s top 10 movies. According to FlixPatrol, a website that tracks the performance of film and television titles on various streaming platforms in 127 countries around the world, the 2010 animated feature Megamind is sitting at number seven on Netflix’s top 10 chart as of Monday, October 10th.
Released in theaters on November 5th, 2010, Megamind is an animated comedy flick that features the voices from some of today’s biggest stars including Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, Ben Still, Justin Theroux, David Cross, and J.K. Simmons. The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Tim McGrath (Madagascar, The Boss Baby) directed the picture from a screenplay by Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons.
In the movie, Will Ferrell portrays the title character Megamind, a supervillain who becomes bored since he no longer has anybody to fight with after killing his good-guy nemesis, Metro Man (Pitt). In hopes of giving his life purpose, the evil genius creates a new foe, Titan (Hill), who, instead of using his powers for good, sets out on a mission to destroy the world. Suddenly, Megamind finds himself playing hero as he attempts to save the day for the first time in his life.
When Megamind was released, it opened in the number one spot with $46 million at the domestic box office, making it the fifth-highest opening for an animated feature in 2010. The film concluded its theatrical run with a domestic total of $148 million and a worldwide sum of $322 million. For Will Ferrell, it’s one of his highest-earning flicks to this day.
The year it was released, Megamind became the sixth highest-grossing animated movie globally, behind Toy Story 3 ($1.063 billion), Shrek Forever After ($753 million), Tangled ($591 million), Despicable Me ($543 million), and How to Train Your Dragon ($494 million).
Films starring Will Ferrell tend to be either hit or miss with audiences, and fortunately, Megamind was a major hit in terms of critical reception. From 182 reviews on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds a 72% fresh rating from critics, with several commending the top-shelf voice cast and stunning visuals. The audience rating was right on par with critics, with a 72% fresh rating from over 100,000 ratings.
Megamind never received a true motion picture sequel, likely due to the fact the movie cost an estimated $130 million to make and the box office earnings fell short of studio expectations. But it did spawn a franchise later on including three games, a short film titled Megamind: The Button of Doom, and the recently announced series, Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City.
The new show will stream exclusively on Peacock and follow the title character and his life after being a new superhero of Metro City. At this time, no release date as been announced, and there’s no word as to whether Will Ferrell or any of the other cast members from the 2010 picture will return to voice their respective characters.
Before Megamind’s release, Will Ferrell was already one of the biggest celebrities on the planet, with starring roles in high-profile features like Step Brothers, Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and The Other Guys. Over the last 12 years, the actor’s resume has grown incredibly robust, and not just as a performer.
Ferrell is now recognized as a renowned producer, having served as a producer on various motion pictures and television projects, including the show Succession, for which he’s won multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series.
Looking ahead, Will Ferrell is set to star in multiple projects including Spirited, The Prince of Fashion, an untitled comedy flick co-starring Reese Witherspoon, and The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, which he will also produce.
We’re crossing our fingers that one of his future projects ends up being a return in the forthcoming Peacock series Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City, but we’re not holding our breath. Fortunately, the 2010 flick Megamind is currently available to stream on Netflix, where it continues to climb up the streamer’s Top 10 chart.
