After its disappointing box office performance and critical reception, A24’s Death of a Unicorn is finding more appreciation on streaming, even overtaking what is categorically the best movie of 2025 so far. Death of a Unicorn‘s opening weekend continued a disappointing trend for A24, with many of their high-profile horror movies struggling to be profitable.

That being said, Death of a Unicorn tells a fairly engaging horror comedy story that touches upon some salient themes in interesting ways. It follows father and daughter Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega), who are en route to a luxury retreat in the mountains, where Eliot can schmooze his boss, when they hit and kill a unicorn.

Upon Death of a Unicorn‘s streaming release on HBO Max this past Friday, it instantly became a popular at-home watch. According to FlixPatrol, Death of a Unicorn is now the #1 movie on HBO in the U.S., overtaking Sinners, which has held the top spot for the past few weeks and is still the #1 movie in some other countries.

What Being A Streaming Hit Means For Death Of A Unicorn

Death Of A Unicorn Could Still Attain Cult Status

Death of a Unicorn has the makings of a cult classic, when it could be argued that it was merely misunderstood. Its balance between comedy and horror is somewhat off, and its villains are at times too exaggerated to take seriously, but most of the performances are great, and its themes memorably come across in pivotal moments.

Once again, we are seeing a movie with something genuine to offer fail at the box office — potentially having a negative impact on potential future projects in the same genre — only being given a chance by many people once it is readily available via a streamer they already subscribe to.

Death of a Unicorn proves the struggles of horror comedy, a subgenre still brimming with possibilities. Hopefully, Death of a Unicorn maintains its popularity outside the traditional moviegoing experience, cementing its own status as a movie that deserves more love and encouraging A24 to continue workshopping their horror comedy projects, until they strike gold.

Our Take On Death Of A Unicorn’s Streaming Popularity

I Expected This From The Recent A24 Movie

Admittedly, Sinners could easily retake the top spot within a week. However, Death of a Unicorn lands in the perfect territory of having a unique, fascinating premise that everyone must see play out while still earning poor reviews. Which is to say, I expected it to be an instant hit on streaming, because I believed that everyone was thinking they had to see this for themselves.

What remains to be seen is how long Death of a Unicorn will be popular on streaming, which will be the true indicator of its long-term place in the cultural zeitgeist. I, at least, will go to bat for this movie, and I hope others will too, once they see it on HBO Max.

Source: FlixPatrol