The Flop Film That Saw Julia Roberts Get Nominated For Worst Actress Turned Into A Netflix Sensation

With a score of 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston’s film enjoyed a different outcome on Netflix.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Despite poor reviews and box office performance, the film Mother’s Day found success on Netflix, becoming the most-watched movie in multiple countries.
Julia Roberts’ appearance in the film garnered more attention than her performance, with fans discussing her short hair.
The film Exodus: Gods and Kings, which was a flop in 2014, has seen a surge in popularity on Netflix in 2024, gaining over 7.4 million views.

A film with Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston in the leading roles can’t fail, right? Well, that wasn’t the case a few years ago, as Mother’s Day tanked at the box office, while it received less than impressive reviews.

However, Netflix is a beautiful film, and it gives movies a second life. That seems to be the case with this particular film. We’ll take a look at its standing, and how it was able to overcome some tough reviews since making it onto the streaming service.

In addition, we’ll take a look at a current film that’s thriving on Netflix in 2024, despite the fact that the film was a major letdown over a decade ago.

The Film Mother’s Day Got Awful Reviews, But Was The Most-Watched Movie On Netflix In Various Countries

Back in April of 2016, Garry Marshall’s film Mother’s Day hit the theaters. The film featured a stacked cast including Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, and so many more talents. However, at the box office, the film made less than $50 million. Worse than that were the reviews, as the likes of Rotten Tomatoes reviewed the film with an 8% approval rating.

It seems like after its release, the film enjoyed a boost of sorts. 71% of users on Google liked the film, while it received great scores on Netflix among fans watching the film.

According to ScreenCrush, the flop film was the most-watched in multiple countries.

Pure Wow also revealed in 2021, that the film was among the most-viewed in the US. This took place even though its release didn’t coincide with Mother’s Day. The flick hit number 7 on Netflix.

The publication wrote, “The movie was just added to Netflix and it’s already jumped into the #7 slot on their list of most-watched flicks.”

As far as Julia Roberts’ performance goes, it seems like fans were more concerned with the way she looked in the film than her actual performance.

Fans Were More Concerned With Julia Roberts’ Look In Mother’s Day

There was a lot of chatter in regard to Julia Roberts’ hair in Mother’s Day. In terms of her performance, Julia was up for the award of worst actress. However, her short hair look apparently had fans talking. Roberts did discuss her Mother’s Day wig, revealing that she didn’t put much thought into her look.

“I’ve heard a lot about my look in the movie. There’s a lot of interpretation about my look. I wish I could’ve put that much thought into it. It was kind of, like, quick putting it together.”

The stacked cast also included Jennifer Aniston. Jen was asked about agreeing to the role and, according to the star, the director was a bigger reason for accepting the role than the actual script itself.

“Garry Marshall was the reason I think most of us said “yes” to this movie, because since I was a kid, (Marshall’s) “Happy Days” or “The Odd Couple” or “Laverne & Shirley” to, of course, all of his incredible movies, so kind of without even reading a script I think we said, “Yep.” He really does a beautiful job on touching on all of the different scenarios of what the family unit looks like today and I think it’s quite lovely,” she tells Front Row Features.

Despite the slow start, the film was able to enjoy some success years later. It seems like something similar is taking place these days in early 2024.

Exodus: Gods And Kings Is Another Flop That Is Surging On Netflix At The Start Of 2024

Off a massive $200 million budget, Exodus: Gods and Kings was only able to generate $268 million at the box office. Reviews weren’t kind to the movie either, with Rotten Tomatoes rating the film with a 31% approval rating. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Christian Bale had to defend Ridley Scott over Exodus “whitewashing.”

Scott face scrutiny after casting white actors for Middle Eastern roles. Scott told the media to “get a life,” while Bale said, “I don’t think fingers should be pointed, but we should all look at ourselves and say, ‘Are we supporting wonderful actors in films by north African and Middle Eastern film-makers and actors, because there are some fantastic actors out there.”

He continues, “If people start supporting those films more and more, then financiers in the market will follow. The audience has to show financiers that they will be there, and [then] they could make a large-budget film. To me, that would be a day of celebration. For the actors, it would be wonderful. It would be a wonderful day for humanity, but also for films and for storytelling in general.”

Fast-forward a decade later and the 2014 flop has become a Netflix hit. The film is among the most-watched for 2024 with over 7.4 million views, according to ScreenRant.