Sandra Bullock Movies Audiences Can’t Stop Streaming, Ranked
Despite a career packed with big-screen hits, Sandra Bullock has gone straight to streaming only twice—and both times with R-rated Netflix originals: the breakout Bird Box in 2018 and the bruising The Unforgivable in 2021.
Sandra Bullock has headlined a ton of movies, but when it comes to straight-to-streaming, she has only jumped in twice. Both were R-rated Netflix originals, both were big deals when they hit, and weirdly, they landed very differently with fans and critics. Plus, while her theatrical classics still rule the IMDb charts, she’s also quietly easing back toward the spotlight after a rough couple of years. Let’s break it all down.
The streaming era (aka: Bullock x Netflix)
There are exactly two: 2018’s Bird Box and 2021’s The Unforgivable. Both are currently streaming on Netflix. If you go by audience scores, The Unforgivable is the fan favorite. If you go by critics, Bird Box edges it. It’s one of those split-decisions that makes sense once you look at what each movie is trying to do.
The Unforgivable (2021)
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, the film follows Ruth Slater (Bullock), who gets out of prison after a violent crime and tries to re-enter a world that does not want her back. It’s grim, grounded, and puts everything on Bullock’s shoulders.
Numbers-wise, audiences are in its corner: 75% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (from 1,000+ ratings) and a 7.2/10 on IMDb. Critics were not feeling it, landing at 38% on RT’s Tomatometer from 91 reviews.
'Although it’s slow in spots, The Unforgivable has a great Sandra Bullock performance and a story that makes you think.'
Bird Box (2018)
Susanne Bier’s post-apocalyptic thriller puts Bullock’s Malorie on a blindfolded trek down a river with two kids, trying to survive an unseen presence that drives people to suicide. It’s high-concept, unsettling, and very much a late-2010s Netflix phenomenon.
This time the roles reverse: critics were more into it than general audiences. Rotten Tomatoes shows 64% on the Tomatometer (170 reviews) vs. a 58% audience score (5,000+ ratings). IMDb sits at 6.6/10.
'Bird Box never quite reaches its intriguing potential, but strong acting and an effectively chilly mood offer intermittently creepy compensation.'
Where fans show up the loudest
If you measure by IMDb averages, here are the 10 Sandra Bullock movies audiences love most, focusing on films where she had a major role. I’m including the Rotten Tomatoes critic and audience splits, plus where they’re streaming right now. Yes, Speed being at #5 is wild. And yes, that 'HBO Max Amazon Channel' listing looks outdated, but I’m leaving it as provided.
- #1 Crash (2004) — IMDb 7.7 — RT 73% critics / 88% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
- #2 Gravity (2013) — IMDb 7.7 — RT 96% critics / 79% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
- #3 The Blind Side (2009) — IMDb 7.6 — RT 66% critics / 85% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
- #4 A Time to Kill (1996) — IMDb 7.5 — RT 66% critics / 85% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
- #5 Speed (1994) — IMDb 7.3 — RT 95% critics / 77% audience — Streaming: HBO Max Amazon Channel
- #6 Bullet Train (2022) — IMDb 7.3 — RT 52% critics / 76% audience — Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
- #7 The Unforgivable (2021) — IMDb 7.2 — RT 38% critics / 75% audience — Streaming: Netflix
- #8 Infamous (2006) — IMDb 7.0 — RT 75% critics / 69% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
- #9 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) — IMDb 6.9 — RT 44% critics / 61% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
- #10 While You Were Sleeping (1995) — IMDb 6.8 — RT 81% critics / 79% audience — Streaming: Amazon Video
Off-screen: grief, friends, and what’s next
Bullock and photographer Bryan Randall started dating in 2015 after meeting at her son’s birthday party. He became a father figure to her two adopted kids, Louis and Laila, and they were basically inseparable. In 2023, Randall died from ALS. She stepped back from the spotlight to grieve, and by all accounts, it has been slow going. The word is she’s easing back into public life, leaning on friends like Jennifer Aniston and Keanu Reeves, and reconnecting with Nicole Kidman and members of the largely women-led producing team behind Practical Magic. The gist: she’s still mourning, she still has hard days, but she’s 'coming back to life' one day at a time.
On the work front, she’s lining up projects again. Practical Magic 2 is dated for 2026. Two more are in pre-production: Vigilance and an untitled romantic thriller at Amazon MGM Studios with Reeves. It sounds like she’s returning to set without the person she called her soulmate, which can’t be easy — but she’s moving forward.
So, where do you land: the haunted ex-con drama or the blindfolded apocalypse trek? Or are you Team Gravity forever? Tell me.