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WhatToWatch
WhatToWatch
Entertainment
Michael Balderston

Overlooked Denzel Washington thriller finds new audience on Netflix

Detective Jimmy Baxter (Rami Malek) and Sherriff's Deputy Joe "Deke" Deacon (Denzel Washington) square off against creepy suspect Albert Sparma (Jared Leto) in this thriller written and directed by John Lee Hancock. .

Denzel Washington is one of the most beloved and acclaimed actors of his generation, making any time he has a new movie a particularly notable event. However, as it did with many things, the COVID pandemic messed up Washington's then-anticipated new thriller The Little Things. Now, three years later, the movie has found new life as Netflix viewers are streaming it.

The Little Things was written and directed by John Lee Hancock and starred Washington as a small-town cop sent to Los Angeles to gather some evidence, only to become embroiled in a search for a serial killer. The movie starred three Oscar winners, with Rami Malek and Jared Leto joining Washington in the cast.

After debuting on Netflix on April 1, The Little Things has been one of the most popular movies on the streaming service. In its first week on the platform it generated 8.7 million views, second best among all English-language movies. Its dominance has continued into the second week, as the movie has been the most popular movie in the US on April 8, April 9 and today, April 10 (as of right now, The Little Things is only available to stream on Netflix in the US).

This is definitely the widest audience that The Little Things has garnered since it came out. Its first run began on January 29, 2021, when it debuted both in movie theaters and on Max (then HBO Max) at the same time. Of course, movie theaters were still not operating at full capacity because of the pandemic (The Little Things' box office affirms that, as it made $30.8 million worldwide) and Max served a smaller subscriber base.

Initial reviews also did not help The Little Things. The movie currently has a "Rotten" score from critics on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, though general audiences that saw the movie give it a better rating of 67% positive.

The renewed interest in the movie has left some people confused, but others appear to be enjoying the "new" discovery. Check out some of the social reactions, including one from one of its stars:

If you're curious, here are some other movies that are currently trending on Netflix in the US: Glass, Scoop, Megan Leavey, Happy Gilmore, Hotel Transylvania (1 & 2) and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

You can watch The Little Things on Netflix right now, as well as on Max. If you are in the UK, the movie is available via digital on-demand platforms. 

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