Chris Pratt’s ‘Passengers’ rockets back into Netflix top 10 nearly a decade later

Chris Pratt’s “Titanic in Space” is flying again. Nearly 10 years after its polarizing theatrical debut, Passengers is experiencing a full-blown streaming renaissance — and Netflix subscribers are fueling the revival.

From Box Office Hit to Streaming Standout

Released in 2016, Passengers starred Pratt as Jim Preston and Jennifer Lawrence as Aurora Lane, two hibernation-pod travelers awakened 90 years early on a 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet aboard the luxury starship Avalon. Directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Jon Spaihts, the film was infamous at release: critics slammed its moral dilemma while audiences were kinder, landing it a 30% critics score but a 63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

That didn’t stop it from earning $303 million worldwide on a $110 million budget. Now, in June 2026, it’s proving it still has orbit.

As of early June, Passengers is streaming on Netflix and Netflix Standard with Ads, and it’s climbing charts fast. It recently hit #10 on Hulu’s U.S. movie chart in March 2026 according to FlixPatrol, and was a Top 10 movie on HBO Max in more than 15 countries including France, Iceland, and Romania. JustWatch data shows it jumped 270 spots in a single day in May 2026, landing at #767 on the Daily Streaming Charts — more popular than Birds of Passage but just behind Octavia.

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Why It’s Back: Stars, Spectacle, and Second Chances

So why the sudden resurgence for Pratt’s most controversial sci-fi romance? Three reasons:

1. The Chris Pratt Effect – Pratt is currently filming Season 2 of The Terminal List, and his sci-fi cred remains strong thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy and The Tomorrow War. His presence alone pulls viewers. As Collider noted, Passengers helped “sharpen his expertise” in the genre.
2. The Algorithm Loves a Flawed Gem – Streaming thrives on “great premise, weird execution” films. Passengers is visually stunning, star-driven, and endlessly debatable. The setup — one man wakes up alone, then wakes up a woman without her consent — still sparks side-eye and discussion. “So yes, the ‘Titanic in Space’ line still kind of fits,” Collider wrote in March, “because the movie remains so committed to grand romantic tragedy even when viewers are side-eyeing the entire premise”.
3. Dual-Platform Power – As of March 2026, Passengers was available on both Hulu and HBO Max simultaneously. That kind of reach matters in recommendation-driven streaming, letting new viewers stumble across it twice as often.

The Legacy: Divisive Then, Discovered Now

The film’s supporting cast — Michael Sheen as android bartender Arthur and Laurence Fishburne as crew member Gus Mancuso — added prestige to the high-concept gamble. At the time, it was heavily compared to Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, though Spaihts’ script took a far more intimate, morally murky route.

A decade later, Pratt’s sci-fi track record is mixed. His 2026 film Mercy with Rebecca Ferguson is “tanking at the box office” with a 20% Rotten Tomatoes score, making Passengers look “positively glowing by comparison”.

Where to Watch

You can currently stream Passengers on Netflix and Netflix Standard with Ads. It’s also available to rent or buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and Sky Store. No free streaming options exist right now, but JustWatch lets you set a notification for when it does.