Denzel Washington’s 2004 Action Classic Is Finally Coming to Netflix
Denzel Washington’s searing 2004 revenge thriller Man on Fire hits Netflix in early 2026, primed to ignite a new wave of viewers.
One of Denzel Washington's most talked-about revenge thrillers is finally headed to Netflix, and yes, it's been long enough that some of us saw it in theaters and then on DVD. If you've never caught up with it, or you want to revisit Tony Scott in maximum gear, here's the when, what, and why.
When it hits Netflix
'Man on Fire' starts streaming on Netflix on January 1, 2026. Netflix has it locked for New Year's Day, as first noted by What's on Netflix. That puts the movie back in front of a massive audience more than 20 years after its 2004 release.
What you need to know about the movie
Directed by Tony Scott and written by Brian Helgeland, the film follows Denzel Washington as John W. Creasy, a burned-out former CIA operative who takes a bodyguard job in Mexico City. He’s hired to protect a young girl, Lupita Ramos, and at first he keeps his distance. Then she gets under his skin, he starts to feel human again, and everything flips when she's kidnapped. Creasy goes on a relentless, violent search that drags him through layers of corruption and organized crime.
- Denzel Washington as John W. Creasy
- Dakota Fanning as Lupita 'Pita' Ramos
- Radha Mitchell as Lisa Ramos
- Christopher Walken as Paul Rayburn
- Marc Anthony as Samuel Ramos
How it landed with critics and audiences
Critics were mixed back in the day, and that hasn't changed much: the Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 39% from 166 critic reviews. A lot of the debate centered on Tony Scott's hyperactive style — which, to be fair, is the whole point of this movie's vibe. Richard Propes at The Independent Critic summed up the harsher side of the reaction with this:
'This is a merely average film that had much more potential. It is ruined by director Tony Scott's overambitious and way out of focus camerawork... This 'Man on Fire' should just go up in smoke.'
Even he praised the cast, though, and that tracks — Washington and Fanning give the film its pulse.
Box office reality check
Despite the split reviews, 'Man on Fire' did real business. Per Box Office Mojo, it earned $130,834,852 worldwide, with $77,911,774 of that coming from domestic theaters. Not bad for a scorched-earth vengeance story.
Bottom line: if you're a Denzel completist, a Tony Scott maximalist, or just ready for a glossy, grim thriller that goes hard, set a reminder for January 1.