Shortly after Taylor Sheridan’s and Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario was trending on Netflix, the sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, was also added to the streaming service. Sicario and its sequel, Day of the Soldado, take a gritty and brutal look at the ever-violent situation on the border between Mexico and the United States. Propelled by Villeneuve’s directing, Sheridan’s writing, and top-notch performances from the likes of Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro, Sicario quickly became a hit with fans and critics alike. Now, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is experiencing a new burst of popularity seven years after its release.

Denis Villeneuve and Taylor Sheridan collaborated for the first and only time on 2015’s Sicario. Both of them have moved on to even more success – Villeneuve received near-universal praise for Dune: Part Two, while Sheridan has found mᴀssive popularity through Yellowstone and its spinoff shows. Such a pairing of writer and director created a great action thriller, but their partnership didn’t last for the sequel. Sheridan returned to write Sicario: Day of the Soldado in 2018, while Villeneuve made Blade Runner: 2049. However, Sheridan was more than capable of turning Day of the Soldado into one of the best movies on Netflix right now.

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado Is Now Streaming On Netflix

Netflix Now Has Both Of Taylor Sheridan’s Sicario Movies

Netflix added the 2018 sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado to its catalog on April 1, and the Taylor Sheridan-written movie quickly rocketed onto its top 10 movies list. As of April 2, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is the third most popular movie on Netflix. While Denis Villeneuve didn’t return to direct the sequel, Day of the Soldado was penned by Sheridan, and it has a lot of similarities to the original Sicario. Both Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro reprised their roles as Graver and Alejandro, respectively, and Day of the Soldado follows another military operation on the US/Mexico border.

2015’s Sicario Was Trending On Netflix In March 2025

Sicario Joined Netflix’s Top 10 A Decade After Its Initial Release

Sicario: Day of the Soldado‘s success on Netflix isn’t unprecedented, and it isn’t even a very new development. In early March 2025, the original Sicario joined Netflix’s top 10 as well, a full decade after it was in theaters. With Day of the Soldado‘s recent success, it seems like the Sicario franchise still has legs after several years. Whether that translates to the long-awaited Sicario 3 ever coming out of development limbo remains to be seen. Nonetheless, Day of the Soldado‘s success is proof that Taylor Sheridan’s writing remains as popular as ever, even after seven years.

Day of the Soldado‘s debut on Netflix also lets any of the numerous viewers who enjoyed the original Sicario a chance to continue Taylor Sheridan’s story. Often, in the era of streaming, multiple subscriptions are required to watch a single franchise, particularly when each sequel is produced by a different company, as it was for Sicario. However, Netflix is currently the only streaming service with both Sicario films, and fans can see both with a single subscription.

How Sicario 2’s Box Office & Reviews Compare To Taylor Sheridan’s Original Movie

The Original Sicario Outperforms The Sequel In Every Category, But Day Of The Soldado Is Still Respectable

Though Sicario: Day of the Soldado has found renewed popularity on Netflix, it was actually something of a disappointment in comparison to the original when it was first released. Day of the Soldado underperformed in almost every category – from review scores to box office earnings – in relation to Sicario. For example, Sicario made almost $85 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, while Sicario made just $10 million less with $5 million more to spend (via Box Office Mojo). Sicario also earned very high scores on Rotten Tomatoes – 92% with critics and 85% with audiences – while Day of the Soldado‘s scores were in the mid-60s.

A prevailing sentiment in reviews for Sicario: Day of the Soldado focused on a few things. Many critics thought that director Stefano Sollima couldn’t compare to Denis Villenueve, though he still held his own. Cameron Frew noted that Day of the Soldado was “An often shocking, uncompromising and thrilling sequel that does well to build upon its predecessor’s foundations. It’s no Villeneuve, but it’s damn good.” Other critics noted that the sequel didn’t have as much narrative punch as the original. Screen Rant‘s review noted “Day of the Soldado is a middle of the road offering that never really justifies turning Sicario into a franchise, from a storytelling perspective.”