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Netflix finds yet another major action thriller hit as one of the streaming platform's most recent genre efforts is officially revealed to be one of the biggest and most-watched successes of the year so far. Led by Academy Award-winner and notable action star Charlize Theron, the thriller puts both her muscles and mind to the test as she fights to survive both the dangers of the wilderness and the deadly game of a ruthless predator.
A Ruthless Predator Is on the Hunt
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, the filmmaker known for such Mark Wahlberg-led action outings as Contraband and 2 Guns, as well as the survival films Everest, Adrift, and Beast, Apex made its streaming debut back in April and pits Mad Max: Fury Road and The Old Guard star Charlize Theron against Kingsman’s Taron Egerton in a warped and wild cat-and-mouse thriller. Following a grieving woman who decides to test her limits in the Australian wilderness, the survival action thriller really kicks off when she is suddenly ensnared in the sadistic snare of a mysterious stranger. A stranger with some serious crossbow skills.
According to the newly released "What We Watched the First Half of 2026" report via Netflix, Apex is now officially one of the most-watched movies on the streamer after garnering 129 million views and ranked #5 in the top 10, with the platform revealing that audiences "watched more than 97B hours on Netflix — our highest view hours to date for a half — across a variety of genres and languages."
Apex joins the likes of fellow action thriller smash hits The Rip and War Machine (the latter of which is ranked #1), with the likes of the rom-com Office Romance, the Peaky Blinders sequel The Immortal Man, and the animated action fantasy epic KPop Demon Hunters also finding themselves at the tippy top of streaming in 2026.
'Apex' Is Another Solid Action Thriller Hit for Netflix
Alongside the high viewership, Apex was also met with solid reviews upon release. The action outing now holds a score of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a far more divisive 46% from audiences on the Popcornmeter, with the consensus from the latter saying, "Benefitting from astonishing Australian locations and Charlize Theron's raw athleticism while skimping on the finer details, Apex doesn't mark the zenith of survival thrillers but makes for a solid entry."
While MovieWeb’s Mark Keizer likened it to some thriller classics such as Deliverance and Cliffhanger, and Theron to Terminator's Linda Hamilton, he lamented that "Even though its locations are pretty and Charlize Theron is predictably strong, Apex spins a survival adventure tale we've seen too many times before." However, rave reviews, such as this 4/5 rating from Heaven of Horror hailed Apex as "a really intense and engaging storyline" that pulls "you in from the beginning." Similarly, IGN scored Apex 8/10 and praised Theron who “crafts a relatable and grounded performance bolstered with emotional sensitivity and physical prowess, while Taron Egerton proves his worth as a weirdly menacing antagonist.”
