Daniel Radcliffe’s 2016 crime thriller, Imperium has ascended to become a big streaming hit almost a decade later. Directed by Daniel Ragussis, the film stars Radcliffe as up-and-coming FBI agent Nate Foster, who takes an ᴀssignment going undercover in a violent white supremacist group.
Though Imperium wasn’t a major hit upon its release, it currently ranks as the seventh most popular movie on Starz in the U.S. It beats movies like Shadow Force (2025) and Neighbors (2014). In tenth place is another Radcliffe film in the form of Escape from Pretoria (2020), a prison thriller.
The 2016 film, which also stars Toni Collette and Tracy Letts, falls behind Because I Said So (2007), This Is the End (2013), Flight Risk (2025), McVeigh (2024), and Pretty Thing (2025). Occupying the number one spot is From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025), which hit theaters earlier this year.
Coming five years after Radcliffe bid farewell to the Harry Potter franchise, Imperium had a very limited theatrical release alongside its VOD bow, meaning it wasn’t a major performer at the box office. Figures vary, but the film is reported to have grossed around $300,000 worldwide. No budget for the movie is available, but it is a relatively contained thriller, meaning it was probably not a costly endeavor.
Though Radcliffe’s Harry Potter stature may not have propelled the film to commercial heights, the reception to Imperium was generally quite positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film enjoys an 84% critics’ score, with praise aimed at Radcliffe’s committed performance and the film’s exploration of some particularly serious and unnerving themes.
Imperium, in many ways, is emblematic of Radcliffe’s post-Potter career. The star has shown an affinity for smaller and more auteur-driven projects, delivering bold performances in films like Jungle (2017), Guns Akimbo (2019), the previously mentioned Escape From Pretoria, and the warmly received Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022).
Radcliffe hasn’t totally shied away from more commercial projects, however, as he recently starred in the crowd-pleasing The Lost City (2022). The same year as Imperium, he also played a prominent role in Now You See Me 2 as Walter Mabry, a character he’s set to play again in the upcoming Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which hits theaters next month.
With eight Harry Potter movies on his resume, Imperium is never going to be the most notable project Radcliffe starred in, but it marks an interesting shift away from family-oriented entertainment. Even nine years later, the film’s themes and Radcliffe’s powerful performance are evidently still connecting with viewers.
