Theaters Ignored It, but Sydney Sweeney's Box Office Bomb Is Suddenly Surging on Netflix

28.12.2025 00:40

At first glance, Ron Howard's 2025 movie release Eden had everything you'd need for a box office hit. A popular director, star-studded cast featuring Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas, Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Bruhl. However, the thriller/survival film, even with its unique plotline based on real events, wasn't enought o resonate with fans in theaters, resulting in a disappointing box office performance. But as viewers have seen happen many times before, the streaming landscape can help to quickly flip the script for movies, which was exactly the case for Eden following its Dec. 23 release on Netflix.

Why 'Eden' Failed in Theaters but Thrives on Netflix

Daniel Bruehl, Ana de Armas and Sydney Sweeney attend the premiere of 'Eden' during the Toronto International Film Festival.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Although Eden wasn't a juggeranut superhero franchise or a new release from a beloved series, its premise was more than enough to draw in streamers throughout Christmas break. The tense, psychological thriller set in the Galapagos Islands, explores the unraveling of a group of people who are seeking a new life. It can be hard for these types of R-rated dramas to carve out their spot in the hearts of moviegoers.

However, when it came time for Eden's streaming debut, it had several enticing draws for viewers seeking a movie. Not only is the topic one that many love to pull up while on the couch searching for a new movie, but it has the star power to draw anyone in. Sweeney, one of the biggest names in entertainment currently, along with widely popular stars in de Armas, Law and Kirby, are more than enough to grab the interest of viewers.

The recently added movie has found its footing on Netflix, and after just a few days on the service, Eden currently sits in the top-10 movies in the United States, landing at No. 8.

Netflix's top-10 most viewed movies in the United States features 'Eden' at No. 8.

Netflix

Sydney Sweeney's Recent Thriller's Feature 'The Housemaid' Along With 'Eden'

While Sweeney has done a broad range of different genres throughout her acting career, she's had a recent run of dramas and thrillers. Along with Eden, she was featured in Echo Valley and the recently released movieThe Housemaid alongside Amanda Seyfried. While they've had varying levels of success, and The Housemaid was just released on Dec. 19, 2025, the reviews have varied.

However, the reviews of Eden didn't directly correlate with the movie's box office numbers from Box Office Mojo, at least from an audience perspective.

Eden's box office numbers:

Domestic opening: $1,048,374
Domestic total: $1,573,396
International: $1,238,144
Worldwide: $2,811,540

Although Eden was an undeniable box office flop which suffered a 91 percent drop at the domestic box office in its second week in theaters, it did resonate with many moviegoers.

The movie didn't earn drastically high marks from critics, but on Rotten Tomatoes, it picked up an audience score of 73 percent based on more than 500 verified reviews. Unfortunately, the critics' score was low enough for it to be considered "rotten," landing at 58 percent based on 120 reviews.

While viewers weren't quite willing to fork over the money for a movie ticket to see Eden, its drawing plenty of interest on Netflix, which could remain the case for a few weeks.