‘Joker’ Meets ‘Collateral’ in 95% RT Crime Thriller Officially Streaming on Netflix
Nightcrawler, the 2014 crime thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, has begun streaming on Netflix, drawing renewed attention as a standout in an otherwise inconsistent box-office career for the actor. The film, often likened to Joker and Collateral, holds a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and has grown into a modern cult classic since its theatrical release, contrasting sharply with the disappointing commercial performance of Gyllenhaal's more recent projects.
Nightcrawler grossed $50 million worldwide on a budget of just $8.5 million and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, though Gyllenhaal himself was snubbed at the Oscars despite nominations from the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild. It arrived during a strong period for the actor that also included End of Watch and Prisoners, a run that stands in contrast to recent underperformers such as In the Grey ($17 million on a $70 million budget), The Covenant ($22 million on $50 million) and Ambulance (just over $50 million on $40 million).
- Nightcrawler (2014) is now streaming on Netflix
- The Gyllenhaal thriller holds a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score
- It contrasts with several recent box-office flops for the actor
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Nightcrawler is a 2014 American crime thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who films crime and accident scenes to sell to local news stations, an underworld known as "nightcrawling". It was directed by Dan Gilroy in his feature debut and also starred Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton. The film has just become available to stream on Netflix, prompting fresh interest years after its cinema release.
The film was made on a modest $8.5 million budget, went on to earn about $50 million worldwide, and received an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay, alongside acting nominations for Gyllenhaal at several other major ceremonies. It is frequently compared to other character-driven thrillers such as Joker and Collateral, and holds a very high score on the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, which has helped cement its reputation as a cult favourite.
Its return to prominence comes at a point where Gyllenhaal's more recent films, including In the Grey, The Covenant and Ambulance, have struggled at the box office relative to their budgets, making Nightcrawler a reference point for discussion of his career highs.