Scott Eastwood’s WWII Thriller Is Officially the Streaming Sleeper Hit of 2026
A World War II thriller starring Scott Eastwood and Colin Hanks, directed by Rod Lurie, has become one of 2026's biggest streaming success stories despite a muted theatrical run. The film has spent more than 20 days on the domestic iTunes chart, echoing the pattern set by late-2025's Nuremberg, which grossed $70 million worldwide but found its biggest audience after leaving cinemas. The trend highlights growing appetite for WWII-themed content in the post-theatrical and PVOD markets, where such films can outperform their box-office results.
The wave of interest has also been fuelled by Tom Hanks, Colin Hanks' father and a long-time chronicler of the war on screen, who starred in Saving Private Ryan and produced Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Masters of the Air. He recently hosted a 20-episode documentary series, World War II with Tom Hanks, which has performed strongly on the History Channel and via PVOD, reinforcing the broader surge in demand for war-era stories across streaming platforms.
- Scott Eastwood/Colin Hanks WWII film is a streaming sleeper hit
- Over 20 days on the domestic iTunes chart
- Follows similar post-theatrical success of Nuremberg and Tom Hanks' WWII series
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Colin Hanks and Scott Eastwood star in a World War II thriller directed by Rod Lurie, which had a modest cinema release but has gone on to perform strongly on streaming and digital platforms. Its extended run high on the domestic iTunes chart mirrors what happened with Nuremberg, a WWII drama that made $70 million globally in late 2025 but found its largest audience once it left cinemas.
Colin Hanks is the son of Tom Hanks, an actor and producer whose work on WWII stories spans decades, including Saving Private Ryan and the TV series Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Masters of the Air. Tom Hanks has also recently presented a 20-part documentary series on the Second World War, which has drawn large audiences on cable and streaming.
Together, these examples point to a wider trend of WWII-themed films and shows doing better once they move from cinemas to home viewing and video-on-demand services, sometimes outperforming their original box-office takings.