One of Robert Downey Jr.’s worst-ever movies is somehow going wild on Netflix. After starring in Avengers: Endgame, which broke records to become the biggest film of all time, there was probably nowhere for the Iron Man actor to go but down with his next project. However, fans weren’t expecting the quality to fall quite as far as it did. After saying goodbye to the MCU, Downey starred in family remake Dolittle, which turned out to be one of the most notorious flops of the past few years.
Released in January 2020, Dolittle could’ve made the most of coming out just before the pandemic hit, but instead it crashed hard at the box office, with it estimated to have cost Universal between $50-100 million. Of course, sometimes poor commercial performance can be offset if a film receives good reviews, but in this case, critics were just as savage. At the time of writing, it stands at just 14% on Rotten Tomatoes.
And yet, Dolittle is now finding new life on streaming. According to the latest stats from Flix Patrol, the movie is currently the 35th most popular title on Netflix the world over, having jumped up a huge 64 points from its previous ranking. While Downey’s star power and the familiar IP failed to be enough to earn money during its theatrical run, clearly those two factors are more persuasive when you can watch it from the comfort of your own home.
A slightly more faithful adaptation of the original Doctor Dolittle novels by Hugh Lofting than the Eddie Murphy favorite, Dolittle features Downey as an eccentric Welsh (we think?) veterinarian with the ability to talk to animals who’s sent on a globe-trotting quest to find a rare plant to save the life of the poisoned Queen Victoria. The stellar voice cast includes the likes of John Cena, Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek and Kumail Nanjiani as the good doctor’s animal pals.
Dolittle isn’t available on Netflix in the U.S. but it can be found on HBO Max.