Flight Risk Soars On HBO Max Charts

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Mark Wahlberg plays the villain in “Flight Risk,” a new movie quickly becoming popular on HBO Max. Directed by Mel Gibson and written by Jared Rosenberg, the film was released in theaters in January. It centers around a pilot, Daryl Booth (Wahlberg), who is tasked with flying an Air Marshal and a prisoner headed to court.

Michelle Dockery, known from Downton Abbey, and Topher Grace, famous for That ’70s Show, star together in a new action movie filled with unexpected twists as secrets are revealed. While Mark Wahlberg often plays the hero in streaming films, Flight Risk is different, giving him a chance to play a villainous role – something he doesn’t often do.

The thriller Flight Risk continues to be popular with viewers, consistently ranking among the top 10 movies on HBO Max almost a year after its release. Since December 18th, it’s remained firmly at number 8 in the U.S., with a brief dip to number 10. As of December 24th, the film, directed by Gibson, is back to number 8, alongside movies like One Battle After Another, It: Chapter Two, and the holiday favorite Elf.

I was really surprised by how little buzz Flight Risk seemed to get. It’s been a while since Mel Gibson directed something – his last film, Hacksaw Ridge, was back in 2016 – and while it cost $25 million to make, it only brought in around $48.7 million at the box office. To be honest, critics weren’t kind, giving it a pretty low score of 29% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.7/10. Thankfully, regular moviegoers seemed to enjoy it a bit more, giving it a 62% audience score, which is a nice improvement!

This movie is interesting because it’s a shift for Mark Wahlberg. He’s recently been playing heroic roles in films like The Union on Netflix, Family Plan on Apple TV+, and Play Dirty on Prime Video. Flight Risk marks a return to playing a villain, something he hasn’t done since the 1996 thriller Fear.

Mark Wahlberg’s role in that film, alongside Reese Witherspoon, was a much more intimate portrayal of villainy compared to his recent performance in Flight Risk. The story centers on Witherspoon’s character falling for Wahlberg’s older character, who slowly shows his true, darker nature. Before Flight Risk, that movie was the only time Wahlberg had played a villain – he hadn’t taken on a ‘bad guy’ role in any other films.

Mark Wahlberg explained that he apologized to the crew at the end of filming Flight Risk because he stayed fully committed to his character throughout the entire process. While he’s been a well-known actor for many years, it’s unusual for him to take on a role that deliberately challenges his typical on-screen image and performance style.

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2025-12-24 20:10