John Cena’s Panned Action Flick Defies Critics to Dominate Streaming Charts

Alright, here’s one for the 'did not see that coming' file: John Cena’s action comedy Freelance has been absolutely taking off on Netflix lately. Not only is this happening long after its original release, but it’s also a bit bizarre considering most critics basically hated it. Yeah, you read that right—the critics buried this thing, but audiences are showing up in big numbers… at least on streaming.

Freelance Storms Netflix's Global Rankings—Wait, Seriously?

As of January 20, 2026, Freelance was hanging out at number 6 in Netflix’s global movie charts, according to FlixPatrol (which compiles viewing data in obsessive detail for folks like us). The movie racked up 161 global points on the platform, which is less than breakouts like The Rip (a whopping 928 points) or People We Meet on Vacation (719 points), but still—sixth place is pretty nuts for a movie that most people wrote off.

If you check the film’s numbers specifically in Latin America, things get even weirder: from January 18 through January 20, 2026, Freelance averaged a 2.1 ranking across countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. That’s not just ‘good for a John Cena comedy’ numbers—it’s 'your younger cousin just won’t quit quoting it' numbers. The film hit second place in at least 15 countries, including Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador. Granted, it never snagged the top spot, but consistent runner-up status is still impressive for something with reviews this rough.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s going on:

• Original Release: Hit theaters way back on October 27, 2023.
• Streaming Debut: Went to premium video-on-demand in late November 2023, and now it’s all over international Netflix charts.
• Cast & Crew: John Cena plays ex-Army Special Forces type Mason Pettits (with his usual self-aware Cena mugging), plus Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, and Christian Slater. Pierre Morel (Taken) directed. The script comes from Jacob Lentz.
• Production: Shot on location in Colombia, from January through April 2022. Produced by Pierre Morel, Steve Richards, Christopher Tuffin, and Renee Tab.
• Box Office: Made just $10.2 million on a $40 million budget. So, yeah, theaters were not it’s happy place.

Why the Disconnect Between Critics and Watchers?

If you're wondering what the critics thought, here's the brutal rundown:

Rotten Tomatoes has it at a blisteringly low 10% (that’s not a typo) from 39 critics, averaging just 3.2 out of 10 per review. Metacritic is just as rough—26 out of 100. On IMDb, viewers landed somewhere in the middle, with a 5.6/10 user score. CinemaScore's opening weekend audience gave it a 'B-,' which is honestly not terrible, and PostTrak reported 58% positive reactions, with only about a quarter of people saying they’d 'definitely recommend' it.

So what gives? Sometimes, a streaming platform’s algorithm just clicks with a certain crowd, or maybe people are just John Cena completists. Either way, Freelance is the latest example of something bombing in theaters and with critics, then finding a second life online—especially with viewers outside the U.S.

'B- from CinemaScore isn’t great, but it’s a heck of a lot better than a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes! That’s a gap if I’ve ever seen one.'

Bottom line: if you want to see what all the (unexpected) fuss is about, Freelance is now streaming, and apparently 2026’s Latin America can’t get enough of it. Critic-proof, indeed.