Netflix's Rebel Ridge is a hit, so why didn't it come to cinemas?

Rebel Ridge is the buzzy new action-thriller everyone is talking about. Jeremy Saulnier's movie is attracting rave reviews from critics and currently tops Netflix UK's film chart. So with all of this behind it, why didn't it get a cinema run?

Saulnier has a real pedigree for tough, gritty movies, having made his name with the vicious one-two punch of unorthodox revenge movie Blue Ruin and claustrophobic thriller Green Room. Rebel Ridge sees him on politically-charged form, crafting a tale of an African-American former marine — played by The Underground Railroad star Aaron Pierre — whose attempts to post bail for his cousin fall foul of a corrupt police force.

It's exactly the sort of bold, original thriller that would be amazing to experience on the big screen. Saulnier himself said in a recent GQ interview that "if I'm in charge of everything, we're going to open on 3,000 theatres tomorrow". But alas, Rebel Ridge is a Netflix movie — and one that has never seen the inside of a public cinema at all.

After the cult success of both Blue Ruin and Green Room, Saulnier teamed up with Netflix for the 2018 thriller Hold the Dark. That film got a few glossy festival screenings before landing on the streaming service, where it won mostly positive reviews but mostly disappeared without a trace.

Saulnier, though, prized the opportunity to work with Netflix. He explained to GQ that his approach to casting is a "strict meritocracy", which doesn't mesh with the major studios' desire to cast from a certain pool of actors. Saulnier said Netflix allowed him to cast Jeffrey Wright as the lead in Hold the Dark, despite his lack of history as a bankable action star.

Read more: 'Rebel Ridge' Stars Praise Netflix Movie For Exposing 'Injustice Of Civil Asset Forfeiture' (HuffPost)

"Netflix can get this film to millions and millions of people and maybe not do the traditional theatrical route," he added. "But that means not going to the traditional financing route, which means 'pick these four people and that's it'. And if you don't pick one of them, your film gets shelved."

Rebel Ridge, too, had something of an unfortunate production process. It was first announced in 2019 with John Boyega — undeniably a bigger star than Pierre — in the lead role. The production was all set to go in the spring of 2020, only for the pandemic to force the thing on to the shelf. It started filming in May 2021, but Boyega left the movie a few weeks into the shoot.

There were some reports via a piece in The Hollywood Reporter that Boyega left abruptly, having been dissatisfied with the script and other elements of the production. However, Boyega's agent said that these reports were "completely untrue" and that his exit was due to "family reasons, which in truth is none of anyone’s business except his own".

This left the movie without a star and Saulnier opted to take his time in finding the right leading man. It was April 2022 before the cameras were rolling again, with Pierre installed in Boyega's role. The film wrapped that summer, but has taken almost two years from then to reach the big screen. In an interview with Film Stories earlier this year, Saulnier acknowledged that Rebel Ridge came out of "a tumultuous birthing process".

Read more: Aaron Pierre is a star in the making. 'Rebel Ridge' shows you why (AP)

Rebel Ridge has now been positioned in a bit of a weird slot by Netflix. In the movie community, all eyes are on the traditional autumn festivals such as Venice and Toronto, while multiplexes are dominated by the remaining summer hits and new blockbuster Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Netflix released Rebel Ridge very quietly, hoping that word of mouth would get it in front of eyeballs.

And guess what? They were right. Whatever you think about the release strategy around Rebel Ridge, people are finding the film — and they are loving it. It has a 95% approval score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 74% score among audience members. As Saulnier himself told GQ: "The beauty of Netflix is that if it's destined to become a big thing and talked about, then it will. And if not, you know, so be it."

Saulnier's point makes sense in the context of recent releases like the Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain thriller Mothers Instinct. It made a pretty dismal $3m (£2.3m) on its cinema release, but has been a constant presence in the top 10 Netflix movies since it landed on the service in the UK this month. Far more people have seen the film in the last week than saw it throughout its entire run on the big screen. Netflix breeds exposure, as TV shows like Brassic have also found out.

Read more: Untangling the twisty plot of Rebel Ridge (Digital Spy)

While it would have been a joy to see Rebel Ridge's brutal story unfold in the unique environment of a cinema, there's no denying that a Netflix release allows for the exact sense of freedom that gets films like this made. And based on the viewing figures so far, the Netflix algorithm is helping the movie to find the people who will get the most from it. That, ultimately, is what any filmmaker wants.

Rebel Ridge is streaming now on Netflix.