Robert De Niro and Jamie Foxx’s Long-Awaited Cult Thriller Is Already a Streaming Hit Despite Abysmal Rotten Tomatoes Score

Hollywood powerhouse Robert De Niro has had a few projects released this year, but one has quietly flown under the radar. His first release of the year was Netflix’s political thriller miniseries, Zero Day, which was soon followed by the Warner Bros. gangster feature The Alto Knights. But the project you might not have heard of is Tin Soldier, an action thriller directed by Brad Furman that’s had a rocky road to release. The movie recently overcame its distribution woes when Samuel Goldwyn Films officially secured its North American distribution rights. While it awaits its debut stateside, Tin Soldier has already marched onto international territory via Prime Video, where it’s currently gaining traction.

Tin Soldier features a super-stacked cast. Alongside De Niro, the cult thriller also stars Jamie Foxx, Scott Eastwood, John Leguizamo (John Wick), Saïd Taghmaoui (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum), and British singer Rita Ora. The movie “tells the story of The Bokushi (Foxx), who preaches to hundreds of veterans who have been drawn to the promise of protection and purpose under him,” the official synopsis describes. “Surrounded by his devout military-trained followers, he has built an impenetrable fortress and amassed an arsenal of weapons. After several failed infiltration attempts, the government, in the form of military operative Emmanuel Ashburn (De Niro), recruits Nash Cavanaugh (Eastwood), an ex-special forces asset, who was once a disciple of The Bokushi. Nash agrees to use his vulnerable past and insider knowledge of the enigmatic leader to finally get revenge on the man who took everything from him, including the love of his life.”

Upon its international premiere on Prime, Tin Soldier muscled its way into the streamer’s Top 10, landing at #9 on the movie charts, according to FlixPatrol. It’s in good company; titles like The Accountant 2, which recently hit the platform after a decent box-office run, and its predecessor, The Accountant (now sitting pretty at #3), are also dominating the rankings. Other trending titles on the streamer include Warfare, A Working Man, Me Before You, Sting, and Woody Harrelson’s Last Breath. However, while Tin Soldier may be pulling in viewers, it’s not exactly winning them over. The film currently holds a brutal 2% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes from around 50 ratings, suggesting it may be one of those “so bad, you have to see it for yourself” situations. In streaming, curiosity is often the secret weapon, and Tin Soldier might just be benefiting from that very impulse.

Another Robert De Niro Movie Is Succeeding on Streaming

Interestingly, Tin Soldier isn’t the only recent De Niro project to find redemption on streaming. The Alto Knights, which struggled both commercially and critically upon theatrical release, surged to the top of HBO Max’s movie charts shortly after landing on the platform, even outperforming new titles like Mountainhead and Mickey 17. While critics gave it a rotten 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences begged to differ, deeming it worthy of a fresh 71% rating. While that goodwill didn’t translate at the box office, it definitely did on streaming, where the film continues to rank among HBO Max’s most-watched.

Whether Tin Soldier can replicate that kind of sustained momentum remains to be seen. Tin Soldier is set to make its domestic debut soon, and it will be interesting to see how it fares. Until then, you can check out the trailer above and stay tuned for more.