Gerard Butler‘s 2023 action thriller is finding renewed success on Netflix after disappointing at the box office. When it comes to mid-budget action fare, Butler remains one of the most prominent names in Hollywood. The actor regularly appears in action-heavy thrillers, and these movies are often popular with audiences.

The Has Fallen franchise is largely responsible for this new era of Butler’s career, with the star first playing Secret Service agent Mike Banning in 2013 with Olympus Has Fallen. Butler has since returned as Banning in two sequels, and a fourth installment тιтled Night Has Fallen remains in development.

Butler has also found success beyond this franchise, however, cementing his position as an action star with films like Den of Thieves (2018), Copshop (2021), and Plane (2023). The actor still regularly makes his mark in non-action movies, too, including the disaster thriller Greenland (2020) and the live-action How to Train Your Dragon (2025) remake.

Not all of Butler’s films are immediate hits upon release, and some take a little more time to find their audience. This is exactly what happened with an action thriller from several years ago that is now succeeding on streaming.

Kandahar Makes Its Mark On The Netflix Streaming Charts

Two years after its release, Kandahar has just entered the Netflix top 10. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, the action thriller sees Butler taking on the role of Tom Harris, a CIA operative who must escape Afghanistan with his translator after uncovering a covert mission.

Kandahar reviews were mixed from critics and the film grossed only $9.4 million worldwide. Plane ultimately emerged as the more popular Butler movie from 2023, faring well critically and commercially.

Now, Netflix streaming data reveals that Kandahar is the tenth most popular English-language movie on the service globally for the week of August 4 – 10. The action thriller has racked up an impressive 3.2 million views during that week and 6.4 million hours viewed. Check out the full top 10 chart below:

What This Means For Kandahar

On Rotten Tomatoes, Kandahar has only a 45% score from critics, but the audience-driven Popcornmeter score is much higher at 82%. This isn’t unusual for a Butler film, as it’s with general viewers that his films often succeed.

Viewership success on streaming probably won’t be enough to get a Kandahar sequel off the ground, but it affirms that Butler’s face on a movie tile can be enough to get subscribers to click on it. The film’s newfound popularity is a positive sign for future Butler projects, including Night Has Fallen, Den of Thieves 3, and the confirmed Greenland: Migration.