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Thanks to his role as Jack Reacher in the Prime Video smash hit Reacher, Alan Ritchson has continued to cement himself as one of the top modern action heroes to watch. Now, the actor has made his action hero reputation even more official than it already was, as his latest action thriller foray is named the biggest movie on Netflix now after accruing over 100 million views.
Ritchson's Action Sci-Fi Thriller Tops Netflix's "What We Watched" List
Revealed as part of Netflix's "What We Watched the First Half of 2026" report, Alan Ritchson has dominated the popular streaming platform in the first half of the year, with his no-nonsense sci-fi action thriller War Machine taking the #1 spot and officially becoming the most-watched movie of 2026 so far.
Directed, co-produced, and co-written by Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3, The Hitman's Bodyguard), War Machine hit Netflix with a bang back in March, and finds Ritchson taking the lead as the near-silent 81, a soldier who, during the final stage of US Army Ranger selection, sees the elite team's training exercise transformed into a fight for survival against an unimaginable threat. Think Predator meets Transformers.
"Our audiences watched more than 97B hours on Netflix — our highest view hours to date for a half — across a variety of genres and languages," the report states, with War Machine garnering 147M views and leaving the likes of crime thriller The Rip (136M), animated outing Swapped (131M), action fantasy phenomenon K-Pop Demon Hunters (130M), and the survival thriller Apex (129M) in the dust.
'War Machine 2' Is Already in the Works
Alongside its massive viewing figures, War Machine was met with solid reviews from both critics and audiences alike, with many praising the movie's unashamed approach to no-nonsense thrills and testosterone-fueled action sequences. All of which ultimately scored the movie 66% and 64% from critics and audiences, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes.
So, it should come as little surprise to learn that War Machine 2 is already in the works. While no plot or cast are confirmed, expect Alan Ritchson's mysterious Staff Sergeant 81 to return and face a threat far bigger than the first time around. Ritchson himself has commented on the sequel, invoking one of the greatest sci-fi action sequels of all time, James Cameron’s Aliens, saying, "War Machines is going to be sick."
As for returning director Patrick Hughes, he has revealed that, while War Machine was written as a standalone project, he's "ready to pull the triggers" on what he calls an "absolute banger" of a follow-up that he plans to start filming as soon as possible.
"Keep the good times rolling. I’m pinching myself every day. If you’d gone back to me and told me that when I was at film school, I’d be sitting in this opportunity where it’s like this universe you’ve set up and it’s off to the races, and had a mass appeal, and people are begging for a sequel. This is very, very exciting. I can’t go into any details, but I know when I wrote it was just, they had it all mapped out – what I would do, touch wood, if they did give me the opportunity. It’s expanding that world but at the same time it’s not doing what’s expected."
