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Released to very little marketing, fanfare, and less critical acclaim on June 08, 2025,Breatheis a sci-fi thriller getting a new chance to win streaming audiences on Paramount+. The critically panned movie starring Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Hudson failed to resonate among the masses, garnering atrocious reviews and a lowly $239,000 worldwide following its limited theatrical and VOD release (via Box Office Mojo).
Yet, despite the negative reception,Breatheis up over 1,000 spots on the streaming charts (via Just Watch), indicating its newfound popularity on the streaming platform. One of the positive aspects of modern-day movie exhibition trends is, that even if a film does not land as intended during its initial theatrical run, streaming services can increase the viewership and, in some cases, change hearts and minds regarding public perception. AlthoughBreathemay benominated for several Razziesby year’s end, at least it’s drumming up more business than it did during its initial release.
What Is Breathe About?
Breatheis adystopian sci-fi thrillerdirected by Stefon Bristol from a screenplay by Doug Simon. Released in select theaters and video-on-demand on July 10, 2025, the movie came and went without much notice. The story tracks Maya (Jennifer Hudson), a single mother raising her daughter Zora (Quvenzhane Wallis) in Flatbush, Brooklyn.Believing her husband Darius (Common) has been killed, Maya and Zora travel underground following a cataclysmic event that has reduced Earth’s oxygen level to 5%.
Underground, Maya and Zora encounter fellow survivors who struggle to breathe and adapt to their oppressive environments.Rather than cooperating to find solutions and help each other out of the existential bind, the dramatic crux involves the survivors competing to build a machine that generates oxygen. Once the generator is operational, the group travels from one safe-haven to another. Among the underground survivors are Tess (Jovovich) and her husband, Lucas (Sam Worthington), violent gun-strapped interlopers who may or may not be trustworthy.
As a psychological cat-and-mouse game between Maya and Tess ensues,Breathefalls into one cliche-riddled trap after another, culminating in a deeply uninspired and wildly derivative affair that calls to mind much better sci-fi movies.One of the most glaring scientific errors in the film undermines the entire plot, claiming that in the year 2039, Earth’s oxygen level has rapidly reduced from 27% to 5%. However, Earth’s oxygen level typically averages 21%, with a six percent increase over 15 years (from 2024 to 2039) completely implausible. Unlikethe all-time best sci-fi thrillers,Breathe’s dramatic conflict cannot be taken seriously.
Critical and Commercial Response to Breathe
Among the worst-reviewed movies of the year,Breatheholds a 17% Rotten Tomatoes score, a 26% Audience Score, a 3.9 IMDb rating, and a 3.3 Metacritic User Rating. The figures indicate a movie received poorly by professional critics and general moviegoers, leaving very few defenders to stand up for whatever merits it may possess. Beyond the inaccurate science that crumbles the movie’s hooky premise, most agree that Breathe resolves its central conflict too rapidly to have a dramatic impact. AsIGN’s review notes:
“The movie feels pared down to a fault, resolving its conflicts too quickly and failing to ever take the shape of a coherent allegory. It’s proof that shorter isn’t always better, even in the realm of self-contained genre fare.”
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Another major gripe is the predictable screenplay by Simon, who spends too much time establishing family dynamics while failing to shroud the twist ending. Tonal inconsistencies also hinder the dramatic propulsion of the plot, leaving nothing but thin air for viewers to grasp. AsCollider’s review notes:
“Breathe is empty bluster and nothing more. It’s like a vacuum of where a movie should be, sucking all the air out of the room until nothing is left.”
But if streaming platforms have taught the public anything,a movie’s reception does not directly correlate with its digital viewership.Breatheis finding new life on Paramount+ thanks to the performances by the Oscar-winning Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Jovovich, two highly charismatic actors who know how to elevate subpar material.
How Breathe Has a Second Chance on Paramount+
According to Just Watch,Breathehas cracked the Top 200 most-watched streaming titles, up 1,058 spots.The Jennifer Hudson moviewas added to Paramount+ on July 10, 2025, and has seen steady viewership in less than one week. For Hudson, Jovovich, Simon, and Bristol, attracting new viewers on the streaming platform four months after the film woefully underperformed at the box office must feel incredibly gratifying. After all, the most positive aspect ofThe Guardian’s 2/5-star reviewis the performances, declaringBreathefunctions as a “solidly acted but underwhelming post-apocalyptic thriller.”
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While the plot is predictable, the tone is inconsistent, and the scientific premise is faulty,Breatheis finding life on Paramount+ due to the performances. In another rare positive review,Film Authority assuresJovovich fans that her work warrants a watch, stating, “Breathe’s intense sci-fi stand-off shows Milla Jovovich’s considerable acting chops to good effect.”
FollowingBreathe, Hudson is set to voice a character in the animated filmPierre the Pigeon-Hawk,and Jovovich is slated to star in the fantasy filmIn the Lost Lands.
