Prime Video has reportedly overtaken Netflix as the most in-demand streaming service, buoyed by a library that mixes fresh blockbusters with under-the-radar titles finding a second life online. Among the latter is *The Amateur*, last year's spy thriller starring Rami Malek, which has spent all of August in the platform's Top 10 despite a muted cinema run, underlining how streaming can rescue films that underperformed theatrically.

Directed by James Hawes and based on Robert Littell's novel, the film follows CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller (Malek), who hunts the terrorists who killed his wife (Rachel Brosnahan) using intelligence and cunning rather than physical force, putting him at odds with the agency and his own handler, played by Laurence Fishburne. It grossed almost $100 million against a $60 million budget and holds an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes, reflecting a modest but consistent audience both in cinemas and now on streaming. Hawes, known for spy-genre television work including *Slow Horses* and *Undercover*, has since moved on to directing the opening episodes of *Lanterns*.