A Mark Wahlberg adventure movie that struggled to make a major splash in theaters is now finding a much bigger audience at home. The film has secured a rare ranking on Netflix’s U.S. Top 10, putting it ahead of multiple high-budget projects.
Arthur the King has become a streaming success on Netflix
As per FlixPatrol, Arthur the King has climbed to No. 2 on Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 list, beating titles like Minions, Spider-Man: Homecoming, 72 Hours, and many others. That streaming surge gives the 2024 release a second shot. The story follows Michael Light, an adventure racer desperate for one more championship run. During a brutal competition in the Dominican Republic, his team forms an unexpected bond with a stray dog that refuses to leave them behind. Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ali Suliman also star.
Simon Cellan Jones directed the movie from Michael Brandt’s screenplay, adapting Mikael Lindnord’s book Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home. Lionsgate distributed the film, with eOne and Tucker Tooley Entertainment among the production companies. The movie reached theaters March 15, 2024, before arriving on streaming a couple of months later.
The theatrical numbers explain why the movie could feel overlooked. With an estimated $19 million budget, it collected about $40.8 million worldwide, including roughly $25 million domestically. That makes it profitable-looking on the surface, but its modest theatrical haul hardly matched the star power attached to it.
Reception-wise, the film currently carries a 7.0/10 IMDb rating, while Rotten Tomatoes lists 71% from critics and 97% from audiences. That split says plenty. Critics saw a familiar, emotional sports drama, while viewers clearly connected with the inspirational dog-and-human story.
For Wahlberg, the streaming comeback adds another entry to a career packed with recognizable hits, including Boogie Nights, The Departed, The Fighter, Ted, The Other Guys, Lone Survivor, Shooter and Uncharted.