Unlikely Young Adult Movie Trilogy Dominates Netflix's Top 10 Global Chart
An unexpected comeback of long-forgotten movies that averaged 50% scores then but take over Netflix’s charts now.
Summary:
- Wes Ball’s The Maze Runner trilogy is a young adult post-apocalyptic dystopia based on the book series of the same name.
- Despite its star-studded cast, the movies were not particularly successful, with their critic and audience scores staying in the middle zone.
- Recently, The Maze Runner trilogy stormed Netflix ’s Global Movie chart, booking three spots on the Top 10 at once.
Most young adult settings don’t survive the slightest scrutiny, but that rarely makes them less charming. After The Hunger Games ’ overwhelming success, the genre of young adult post-apocalyptic dystopia became so prominent it seemed like almost nothing else was being written or filmed for a few years. Then, it died off somewhat.
But at its peak, this genre gave us some unique stories, and while most of them are long-forgotten by now, sometimes, they randomly return to remind us of themselves.
The Maze Runner Took Over Netflix
Like the majority of other YA post-apocalyptic dystopias, Wes Ball’s The Maze Runner movies were a trilogy based on a book series. They were a step ahead of their competition, though, starring the likes of Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Thomas Sangster, and some other prominent young actors.
Despite having concluded in 2018 and not having the best reviews, The Maze Runner trilogy suddenly made a comeback and took over Netflix’s Global Movie Chart: all three films are present in the Top 10 list, booking the 5th, 6th, and 9th spots. Apparently, it’s The Maze Runner binge season, and we missed it entirely.
The Maze Runner Didn’t Perform Well
Despite its star-studded cast, Wes Ball’s trilogy never exactly became a sensation. The first movie titled simply The Maze Runner performed the best out of the three in terms of its reception, getting reasonable 65 and 68% Critic and Audience Scores on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and a 6.8 IMDb score that fell in line with the rest.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure fared much worse. The second installment got 48 and 54% from critics and viewers respectively and a 6.3 IMDb score, and the final movie raked up only 43 and 58% on Rotten Tomatoes followed by the same 6.3 IMDb score. After the first film, the franchise saw a drop in quality, but it wasn’t too bad in comparison to what happened to others.