Netflix's crime thriller The Whisper Man, starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan, has topped the streamer's global viewership chart despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. The film's success continues Netflix's run of hits from a strategy of releasing mid-budget genre films rather than big-budget blockbusters, a shift that has repeatedly paid off in 2026 even as some higher-profile projects have underperformed.

The Whisper Man, directed by James Ashcroft and styled as a throwback to 1990s serial-killer thrillers such as Se7en, racked up 23 million views in its first three days, according to Netflix's weekly data for 24-30 August, overtaking holdovers including Facing El Chapo and The Last House. It currently holds a 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It joins a string of mid-budget Netflix releases to pass 100 million views this year, including Swapped, War Machine, The Rip (starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) and Apex (starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton).