Dwayne Johnson's 2022 superhero film Black Adam, which flopped at the box office, has become a surprise hit since arriving on Netflix on 1 August. Within days it climbed into the platform's global top ten most-watched films, suggesting that despite being widely deemed a box-office failure and derailing DC's cinematic plans at the time, the movie has found a substantial audience through streaming.

According to FlixPatrol data cited in the article, Black Adam ranks sixth among Netflix's most popular films, a strong showing for a nearly four-year-old title. The Hollywood Reporter previously noted it grossed only $391 million against a $260 million budget, a shortfall that contributed to DC Studios overhauling its film universe under James Gunn. The film's streaming success, alongside the billion-dollar box office of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, indicates continued audience appetite for superhero films even as big-budget theatrical bets on the genre grow riskier; the future of Johnson's Black Adam character within the DC Universe remains unconfirmed.