Hugh Jackman’s Intense 122-Minute A24 Movie Officially Beats Sydney Sweeney on Streaming

Hugh Jackman has dethroned Sydney Sweeney on HBO Max. His gritty A24 thriller The Death of Robin Hood has climbed straight to No. 1 on the platform’s U.S. movie chart, pushing Sweeney’s psychological hit The Housemaid into second place. According to FlixPatrol’s October 18, 2026 rankings, Jackman’s 122-minute medieval drama claimed the top spot as a new chart entry, while The Housemaid slipped one position after seven days on the ranking. The figures reflect U.S. chart positions, not confirmed viewership totals or a worldwide streaming victory.

While Sweeney’s thriller became a major commercial success, Jackman’s darker interpretation of Robin Hood struggled at the box office. Its streaming ascent suggests the film may be finding an audience that eluded it in cinemas.

Hugh Jackman’s Robin Hood Is a Ruthless Outlaw

Credit: A24

Forget the charming outlaw who robs the rich to help the poor. Writer-director Michael Sarnoski, known for Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One, dismantles that romanticized legend and replaces it with a blood-soaked reckoning. Set in medieval England, The Death of Robin Hood follows an aging Robin (Jackman), haunted by years of murder and brutality. Gravely wounded, he encounters Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer), whose compassion offers him a possible path toward redemption.

Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, and Noah Jupe round out the principal cast, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Sarnoski deliberately rejects the swashbuckling spectacle associated with the character. Speaking to Rotten Tomatoes’ Seen on the Screen, he described Robin as:

That distinction gives the film its emotional backbone. Jackman’s Robin isn’t fighting to preserve his heroic reputation; he’s confronting the possibility that he never deserved one. The performance also recalls Jackman’s weary Wolverine in Logan. Both characters are aging warriors burdened by violence, although The Death of Robin Hood goes further by questioning whether its protagonist was ever genuinely heroic.

As FandomWire’s trailer analysis previously observed, the similarities extend to the characters’ physical deterioration and attempts to protect others. However, the film’s grim ambitions have divided critics. It holds a 69% Tomatometer and 56% Popcornmeter, while FandomWire’s review awarded it 6/10, praising Jackman’s performance and striking cinematography but criticizing its ponderous pacing.

That criticism isn’t without merit. Sarnoski’s relentless bleakness occasionally mistakes suffering for profundity, yet Jackman’s emotionally battered performance gives the familiar legend an unusually human dimension.

How Did Hugh Jackman Overtake Sydney Sweeney?

Sydney Sweeney in a still from The Housemaid | Credits: Lionsgate

The streaming upset becomes particularly intriguing when the films’ theatrical fortunes are compared. Paul Feig’s The Housemaid, adapted from Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel, stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway, a woman whose employment with a wealthy family spirals into a dangerous psychological game. The thriller earned approximately $400.5 million worldwide against a reported $35 million budget. It also boasts a 74% critics’ score and 92% verified audience rating.

By contrast, The Death of Robin Hood earned approximately $9.9 million worldwide against a reported $20 million production budget.

The disparity illustrates why streaming rankings and theatrical success shouldn’t be conflated. Jackman’s film may have struggled to sell tickets, but its arrival on a subscription platform removes the additional cost of a cinema visit. Meanwhile, Sweeney’s thriller has already demonstrated remarkable commercial staying power. As FandomWire’s HBO Max release coverage noted, the film arrived on the platform earlier this month after its successful theatrical and digital runs.

Its popularity has also secured a sequel. Entertainment Weekly confirms that The Housemaid’s Secret is scheduled for December 2027, with Sweeney returning alongside new cast member Kirsten Dunst. For Jackman, the chart victory offers a welcome second wind rather than a retroactive box-office triumph. The real question is whether audiences will embrace Sarnoski’s unforgiving revisionism now that the price of admission is simply an HBO Max subscription.

Does The Death of Robin Hood deserve the streaming crown, or is Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid the more compelling thriller? Share your verdict in the comments and follow FandomWire for more updates, news, HBO Max streaming rankings, and A24 movie coverage.