Despite being directed and written by the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, director siblings Anthony and Joe Russo, and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, it seems Netflix's The Electric State was always doomed to fail.
Despite its expensive production budget of $320 million and A-list leads Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), the film is barely registering with streamers.
Which is somewhat surprising given all the recent press (There's no such thing as bad publicity), it seems all of the social media chatter surrounding the negative ratings for the film aren't enough to even illicit curiosity views from Netflix subscribers.
According to the latest data, The Electric State premiered to just 25.2M views this past weekend, which likely means that the film won't even crack the streamer's Top 10 Most Watched Movies List for the week.
The film currently has a 15% approval rating on the aggregate reviewer website, Rotten Tomatoes.
But this isn't unfamiliar territory for Netflix, which has over the years, had seen several highly-touted films debut to negative ratings from critics, only to amass a ton of views from subscribers.
Case in point, Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023), Red Notice (2021), and The Gray Man (2022)--also from Joe and Anthony Russo, all reportedly carry $200M+ production budgets and have sub 50% approval ratings from critics.
What separates them from The Electric State is that each of these movies are some of the most-watched films in the streaming platform's history.
Up next for The Russos, is a return to Marvel Studios, with the release of Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). Filming on Doomsday is expected to begin next month, in London. Both Marvel and The Russos are likely hoping to recapture some of the familiar magic from Infinity War and Endgame.
About The Electric State:
Set in a retro-futuristic past, this blockbuster adventure from filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo follows Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), an orphaned teenager who traverses the American West in search of her younger brother. Joining her on the journey is a sweet but mysterious robot and an eccentric drifter (Chris Pratt). The film also stars Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Norman, Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci. Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Hank Azaria, Colman Domingo and Alan Tudyk join the cast in voice roles.