There’s a certain similarity between The Shawshank Redemption, the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, and the Mads Mikkelsen-led Danish film The Promised Land. It’s no wonder that all three titles blew up on home video, in different eras and on different formats, of course. The Promised Land has emerged as a juggernaut on the Paramount+ charts, consistently ranking inside the top five and outperforming much bigger titles. Most recently, it flew past the biggest film of Tom Cruise‘s career, Top Gun: Maverick, as it reclaimed the number two spot on the charts.
According to FlixPatrol, The Promised Land was the second-most-watched film on Paramount+ worldwide on June 24, accumulating 176 points on the platform. In total, the film has amassed over 2,800 points in the month that it has been available on the streamer. On June 24, it beat four massive films that have made a combined total of nearly $3 billion worldwide. Trailing The Promised Land on the Paramount+ charts were Maverick, Catch Me If You Can, Terminator: Genisys, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. The leader board was topped by longtime number one film Gladiator II, which debuted theatrically last year and has surrendered the streaming crown ever since its home video debut.
Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, The Promised Land is set in the 18th century. It features Mikkelsen as a stoic man who embarks upon a single-minded quest to build a settlement in the middle of nowhere. He aims to transcend his social boundaries and be appointed a nobleman following his years of military service. But when he begins his project in the Danish moorlands, he faces opposition from a local aristocrat. As enmity grows between them, the protagonist discovers that personal ambition and unchecked pride have been slowly poisoning his soul. The Promised Land debuted at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023, where it competed for the Golden Lion and received near-unanimous praise. It currently holds a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Mikkelsen Has Starred in Major Franchise Films
Arcel previously worked with Mikkelsen on the acclaimed film The Royal Affair, after which he was roped in by Hollywood to direct the Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba, the film had a difficult production, and opened to poor reviews and underwhelming box office. Mikkelsen has had more success in Hollywood, having played villains in big-budget films such as Casino Royale, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. You can watch The Promised Land on Paramount+, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.