After a troubled start and no theatrical debut, Infinite has surged back into the spotlight—now ranking in Netflix’s global Top 10 and even claiming the top spot in 27 countries. Here’s how this resurgence came to be.
A second life on streaming
Back in 2021, Paramount Pictures pulled Infinite from cinemas amid pandemic uncertainties, opting for a streaming-first release on Paramount+ in the U.S. and various other platforms abroad. The film’s plot follows Evan McCauley (Mark Wahlberg), a man diagnosed with schizophrenia who is haunted by skills and memories he never learned—until a secret group reveals that his recollections are painfully real. Critics were unkind, comparing it unfavourably to Matrix, and Rotten Tomatoes holds a meagre 17% positive rating. Yet here on Netflix, viewers are diving in by the millions, proving that a movie’s fate can turn around with the right platform.
From cancellation to cult following
I remember renting Infinite from a digital store when it first appeared, expecting big action and philosophical twists, only to feel let down by its uneven pacing. Fast forward to today: Netflix’s recommendation algorithms seem to have unlocked a new audience hungry for sci-fi escapism. FlixPatrol data confirms its recent climb to #2 worldwide, with particularly strong performance in Latin America and parts of Europe. This unlikely success story underscores streaming’s power to give films a fresh cult following, long after their initial release plans fall through.
