Dwayne Johnson’s 2017 Baywatch movie has seen a surprising revival on Netflix, quickly climbing the streaming platform’s charts despite being a disaster on its original release. The Seth Gordon-directed action comedy movie is based on the campy ‘90s TV show of the same name, but other than being about lifeguards and featuring some recognizable character names, the similarities between the two end there. Perhaps that is why the film was panned by everyone on its initial release and struggled to make any kind of impact at the box office.
Baywatch reimagined the old ’90s TV show with Johnson stepping into the shorts of Mitch Buchannon, and teaming up with Zac Efron. While hoping to cash in the star power of its leads, the film seemed to forget to actually be…well, more Baywatch. The plot of the movie saw the lifeguards going undercover and attempt to fight a dangerous crimewave and a ruthless businesswoman with plans that threaten their lives of sea, sand, and saving people who should never have gone that far into the water where they could get their perfect hair wet.
Baywatch faced harsh criticism from reviewers, landing itself a dismal score of 17% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. From complaints about the “juvenile” jokes of the film to the expected pushback about the lack of any attempt to capture anything that made the series popular, the movie instead just became “The Rock on a beach in shorts looking good.” At the box office, Baywatch underperformed with a $177 million worldwide gross against an estimated $70 million budget. Considering the same year delivered a near $1 billion box office for Johnson’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and just under $500 million for Efron’s team-up with Hugh Jackman on The Greatest Showman, it’s not surprising that Baywatch’s result was seen as a complete disappointment.
Baywatch is Now Streaming on Netflix – and a New Series is on the Way
Audience reactions to Baywatch were more forgiving than that of critics, with the film managing a 52% Popcornmeter score, which could explain why the film has found a new wave of success on Netflix. Whether it is being seen as a guilty pleasure or just a bit of escapism, Johnson and Efron’s caper has been jumping around the lower end of the global top 10 for a number of days. Clearly, there are still those who enjoy the over-the-top action sequences and that lowbrow humor that critics took a strong dislike to.
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The resurgence of Baywatch on Netflix comes just months after it was announced that Fox are planning on reviving the series again. While there have been very few details revealed about how the new show will compare to the ‘90s version, the idea of Baywatch returning seems like a bad idea for a number of reasons. There are many aspects of the original show that just wouldn’t float now – gratuitous lingering slow-motion shots of a busty blonde in a tight-fitting swimsuit being part of a star’s contract, for example – but minor matters like that have never stood in the way of milking an IP before, and most likely won’t this time either.
- Release Date
- May 12, 2017
- Runtime
- 2h 1m
- Budget
- 69 million
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures