Daniel Craig & Rian Johnson’s Darkest Murder Mystery Yet Instantly Climbs To No. 1 On Netflix

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The new Knives Out movie, a collaboration between Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson, is quickly becoming a hit on Netflix. While the pair previously worked together on Wake Up Dead Man, this latest mystery is significantly more suspenseful and grim than their previous film.

Craig reprises his role as the famous detective Benoit Blanc in a thrilling new mystery. This time, he’s investigating a death that occurs within a close-knit religious community, and everyone connected to the church is a suspect.

Just one day after its release, “Wake Up Dead Man” is now the most popular movie on Netflix in the United States. It’s beating out other top films like “My Secret Santa” at number two, “Hustle” with Anne Hathaway at number three, “Jay Kelly” starring George Clooney at number four, and “The Covenant” from Guy Ritchie at number five.

The new mystery movie has become a hit on streaming shortly after a brief run in cinemas. Like Glass Onion, it was shown in a few theaters before becoming available to stream on December 12th. However, because it played in so few theaters, this third movie in the series earned only $3 million at the box office, despite costing $151 million to make – the lowest amount for any film in the franchise.

However, the new film Wake Up Dead Man has been very well-received. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, critics gave it overwhelmingly positive reviews, resulting in a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This makes it the second-highest-rated film in the series, just behind the first Knives Out movie, which holds a 97% rating. Audiences agree, giving the film a score of 94%.

Since their debut in 2019, the Knives Out films have quickly become a favorite among murder mystery fans. However, Wake Up Dead Man takes a much darker turn, weaving in themes of faith and religion as part of a larger, hidden conspiracy.

The film’s clever plot has been a key reason for its positive reception, with both critics and viewers praising its intricate and thrilling mystery. Many have also highlighted Josh O’Connor’s performance as particularly impressive, even stealing the show from Daniel Craig’s famous detective, Benoit.

Now that Wake Up Dead Man is a big success in the US, everyone’s wondering how well it will continue to do. When Glass Onion came out in 2022, it quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular movies, reaching the top 10 within 10 days and eventually landing at number 10 on the streamer’s Most Popular list. Although it has since dropped from that position, its initial success proved how popular the Knives Out series is.

How well Wake Up Dead Man performs could decide the future of the film series. Netflix had previously purchased the rights to two Knives Out sequels, and that agreement is now complete with the release of the latest film. In November 2025, Dwayne Johnson mentioned that he and Daniel Craig had begun brainstorming ideas for a possible fourth movie.

It’s currently unknown whether the director plans to keep working with Netflix or if they’ll look for a different studio for the next film.

Similar to the first Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man features a completely new group of actors, including Josh Brolin, O’Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, and Cailee Spaeny. Rian Craig is the only actor who appears in all three films. Director Johnson also wrote and produced this third movie.

Wake Up Dead Man is now streaming on Netflix

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2025-12-13 17:48