Taylor Sheridan’s Long-Overlooked Western Surges on Netflix Charts

Taylor Sheridan is best known for creating some of the biggest shows of the last decade, most notably the Paramount+ juggernaut Yellowstone. His work in film is equally impressive. Sheridan is celebrated for his American Frontier trilogy — three neo-Westerns consisting of Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River. While the first two were directed by other filmmakers — Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie, respectively — Sheridan considers Wind River his directorial debut. He has since directed two additional films. The first was a low-budget horror project he has largely disowned, and the second was a neo-Western that became a casualty of Warner Bros.’ notorious Project Popcorn initiative.

Under Project Popcorn, the studio chose to release every film on its 2021 slate simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters. While some titles, such as Godzilla vs. Kong and Dune, performed surprisingly well at the box office despite their dual availability, others struggled. Sheridan’s follow-up to Wind River fell into the latter category. The Oscar-nominated writer-director assembled a formidable cast for the film, led by Angelina Jolie and featuring Aidan Gillen, Jon Bernthal, and Nicholas Hoult. The movie underperformed commercially, but it appears to have found a second life with audiences at home following its recent arrival on Netflix.

Taylor Sheridan’s Empire Is Expanding Beyond Paramount+

According to Netflix’s latest viewership report, Sheridan’s film Those Who Wish Me Dead — the long-overlooked Western starring Jon Bernthal — finished fifth on the platform’s top 10 list, which was led by Tyler Perry‘s Why Did I Get Married Again?. Those Who Wish Me Dead accumulated 4.3 million views for the week of September 7 through September 13, surpassing animated titles such as KPop Demon Hunters and Shrek. It did, however, land one spot below fellow Project Popcorn casualty The Little Things, the psychological thriller starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto, which scored 4.4 million views during the same period.

The Little Things and Those Who Wish Me Dead grossed approximately $30 million and $20 million, respectively, during their theatrical runs, and are now available to a broader audience on Netflix. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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