Look, 2026 literally just started, and Netflix has already given us something to talk about. The Rip dropped on January 16, and honestly? It’s been kind of wild watching it explode across the platform. It seemed like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were hyping this action-crime thriller forever? Well, it finally landed in a very explosive way. The Rip shot straight to number one and basically owned the conversation all weekend. It feels less like a “hey, remember us?” moment and more like they’re reminding everyone else how it’s done.
Get this, in just three days, 41.6 million people watched it. the largest debut since Happy Gilmore 2 last summer and one of the top ten openings in the platform’s entire history. This isn’t some flash-in-the-pan thing, it’s genuinely massive.
So what’s pulling in that viewership? Part of it is obviously Damon and Affleck themselves. These two have been friends since high school in Boston, and watching them together on screen still hits different. But the movie itself has teeth. It’s about Miami narcotics cops who stumble on millions in cartel cash, and then everything spirals as suspicion and betrayal take over. It’s tense, gritty stuff.
Now, critics didn’t declare it the second coming of cinema or anything as yet. But it’s sitting at around 83% on Rotten Tomatoes with a Certified Fresh badge. That’s pretty solid. Audiences have been just as loud, with some calling it a high-octane thrill ride, others pointing out it treads some familiar ground, but almost everyone seems to think it was worth their time.
Here’s the really interesting part though. Affleck and Damon apparently structured a deal with Netflix. If the movie hits certain performance targets, the entire crew, we’re talking grips, assistants and everyone that made this movie happen, gets a once-off bonus. That’s not just a nice gesture. It could actually change how streaming platforms compensate the people who make these movies happen.
So yeah, The Rip is more than just another Netflix release. It’s a genuine streaming moment, a tight action movie that’s given Netflix a strong start to the year, and proof that when these two show up together, people still care enough to watch.
