New Netflix Violent Assassin Thriller Is Top 10 Hit With Viewers

Despite the movie’s underwhelming performance at the box office in 2019 and its critical disgrace, with just a 33 percent Critic Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, thanks to its current streaming fame, it might become a late-blooming Besson classic and join his other films, like Lucy with Scarlet Johanson or Taken with Liam Neeson. 

Nevertheless, upon its release, viewers praised Anna, contrary to critics, giving it an 81 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With Anna now available on Netflix, it isn’t a big surprise that the film full of violence and action is a growing hit, and it might climb further up the charts. 

Another possible contribution to Anna’s unexpected success on Netflix is the newfound success of one of its stars. Cillian Murphy was the star of 2023 when it came to Hollywood, and fans now want to see more of the Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders star, and Anna is a perfect dosage. 

Cillian Murphy portrays Leonard Miller, a CIA agent who becomes Anna’s handler. The film follows Anna Poliatova (Luss), a fashion model who, in fact, is a former KGB assassin. After some time in Paris, her cover is blown by the CIA. As a result, she is lured back into the world of espionage and is forced to use her lethal skills once again. This time, she is tasked with avenging the death of her KGB handler (played by Helen Mirren) in exchange for her freedom as she juggles between two secret organizations. 

The film is full of fight scenes and other action sequences similar to Luc Besson’s previous films, such as La Femme Nikita. Critics found the lack of originality its biggest issue, and Anna bombed at the box office, grossing only $31 million on a $30 million budget. 

In the film’s defense, it opened alongside two highly anticipated films at the time, Child’s Play and Toy Story 4. This only limited theater screening time for Luc Besson’s action take, which further influenced low box office results.

Luc Besson’s US-France effort didn’t receive much love from theatergoers, but Anna has been given a second life on Netflix, where fans can enjoy fast-paced action and impressive visuals. While the story is nothing we haven’t already seen in the cinema, and, at its core, nothing new from Luc Besson, Anna still has its own unique charms, given its success on Netflix. 

Anna is a twist on the classic action hero archetype that might be what viewers are looking for on streaming platforms, and Netflix has once again hit the mark. 

Besson isn’t a stranger to films that found their audience later after the box office, including The Lady and Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets. While Anna is experiencing a surprising resurgence on Netflix, this is clear evidence that critics don’t affect the streaming giant.