Ever since its debut before the holiday season,Carry-Onhas been abig hit for Netflix, securing solid reviews and audience feedback that has turned into a considerable amount of views for the platform. As the film has steadily climbed in viewership,Carry-Onhas begun to become one of Netflix’s top-performing films and has justrecently knocked a fan-favorite sequel directed by Rian Johnson out of their Top 5.
PerVariety,Carry-Onhas entered Netflix’s most popular English-language films list at number five, with a total of 149.5 million viewssince it debuted on the streamer last month. By cracking the Top 5,Carry-OnknocksGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mysteryout of the fifth spot, and joins the ranks ofRed Notice(currently holding the top spot),Don’t Look Up,The Adam Project,andBird Box. All of these films have put in stellar numbers thatCarry-Oncould very well encroach on.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay by T.J. Fixman,Carry-Onfollows a TSA officer named Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) who finds himself the subject of blackmail by a mercenary known as Traveler (Jason Bateman) to deliver a dangerous nerve agent on board a plane during Christmas Eve. The film also stars Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, and Logan Marshall-Green.
Carry-On Was an Immediate Hit for Netflix
Carry-Onemerged out of the gate as a winner for Netflix. After generating 97 million views in just ten days,it earned more watches during its opening week than any other movie released on Netflix in 2024. It was clear then that the film was destined to be one ofNetflix’s top-performing filmson the streamer.
Reviews were also surprisingly solid, with its Rotten Tomatoes score sitting at 88%, with aconsensus that reads,“Taron Egerton and an against-type Jason Bateman make for great adversaries inCarry-On, a throwback thriller that clears all the checkpoints of plot logic with its confident execution.“Letterboxd also gave it high marks. Given the fact that some Netflix originals tend to receive less-than-stellar reviews, the reception, at least critically, has been very surprising.
‘Carry-On’ Review: Jason Bateman Plays Against Type in Airport Action-Thriller
A TSA agent (Taron Egerton) must follow a mysterious caller’s (Jason Bateman) instructions, or his girlfriend (Sofia Carson) will be killed.
What is also interesting isthe audience reaction, at least judging by Rotten Tomatoes, which has been far more critical of the film than critics. The audience score currently registers avery rotten 52%, but that hasn’t stopped the movie from expanding its audience, perhaps with others wanting to see if the subpar audience score is actually on the mark. Whatever the case, some of the audience love it, and Collet-Serra is happy to see their reactions to his film:
“More than the numbers, it’s seeing people’s reactions of the movie. I started getting a lot of calls and texts from friends and people who didn’t know I directed it. They didn’t know until they saw the credits and they were sending me texts that they loved it. I think at that momentI knew the movie was finding an audience and connecting to it.”
Carry-Onis currently streaming on Netflix.
Carry On is a film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, focusing on a young TSA agent who is coerced by a mysterious traveler into allowing a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight. As events unfold, he must use his wits to resolve the perilous situation.
