The Worst Comic Book Movie Is Somehow Killing It On Streaming
Vin Diesel's critical and commercial flop, Bloodshot, is #2 on Hulu.
With (most of) the Marvel films on Disney+, HBO’s claim over DC, and even Prime Video’s run at superhero offshoots like Samaritan and The Boys, the entertainment world is pretty well saturated with tales of humans with extraordinary abilities. Hulu is now entering the chat with Valiant Comics’ Bloodshot which is quickly climbing the charts and taking over the number two position on the streamer. Although the Vin Diesel-led film only landed a 30 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with ticket sales far below the cost of production, Hulu subscribers are seeing something worth tuning in for, with viewership skyrocketing for the David S.F. Wilson-helmed sci-fi action flick.
In Bloodshot, action man Vin Diesel stars as marine Ray Garrison who, along with his wife, is murdered. After being brought back to life by a brainy team of scientists and given special nanotechnology, Ray turns into a brutal killing machine named Bloodshot who, along with his new peer group of super-soldiers, trains to do combat with whoever the government deems an enemy. Although upon his resurrection he’s at first without memories, Ray slowly but surely begins to remember, including regaining the memory of who is responsible for killing him and his wife.
He sets out on a journey to bring the perpetrators to their knees. But, on the way, he discovers that there’s more lying below the surface than he initially thought.
A star-studded cast, along with Fast & Furious franchise star, Vin Diesel, Bloodshot also featured Sam Heughan (Outlander), Eiza González (From Dusk till Dawn: The Series), Talulah Riley (Pride and Prejudice), Guy Pearce (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Toby Kebbell (Servant), Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Game of Thrones), and Lamorne Morris (New Girl). Despite its loaded cast, filled with some of the most recognizable faces from television and film, the sci-fi superhero feature only managed to bring in $37.1 million at the global box office up against its production budget of $45 million.
While Bloodshot may have been a major flop, part of the reason behind its low earnings was that its release coincided with the very first days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Landing in theaters on March 13, 2020, cinemas would soon be closing for the foreseeable future after lockdowns went into place and the word “quarantine” worked its way into our everyday language. Because of this major halt in ticket sales, Sony decided to give the title a digital release less than two weeks after its cinematic drop.
Still, despite its setback of arriving in those early days of COVID-19, the film would most likely have been a major disaster for Sony and the rest of the producers and team involved. While many critics were impressed with the adrenaline-pumping action scenes and the visual effects, many were underwhelmed by Diesel’s performance as the titular hero and believed that too much was given away in the trailers. What was meant to be a kickoff for Valiant Comics’ crossover to major motion pictures, Bloodshot did little to help boost their cinematic takeover, although now the film, like its titular character, is getting a second chance thanks to Hulu subscribers.
