MCU Star’s Underwater Survival Thriller With 91% RT Audience Score Becomes Streaming Hit

The MCU may not hold the same place in popular culture as it once did, but it remains a key Hollywood franchise. Marvel is responsible for the career comeback of Robert Downey Jr., who debuted as Iron Man back in 2008, but it also helped to establish other stars like Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, and Chris Evans, among others. In the post-Avengers: Endgame (2019) era, new MCU movies have been focused on setting up a new generation of heroes, paving the way for new stars.

Black Widow (2021) marked Florence Pugh’s first entry in the MCU, and she has gone on to become a major movie star outside of Marvel. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), similarly, served as a platform for Simu Liu, who was previously best known for Kim’s Convenience. Liu hasn’t made quite the same splash that Pugh has as a Marvel newcomer, but he did recently star in a survival thriller that impressed audiences.

Last Breath Has Become A Streaming Hit

The Simu Liu Movie Beats Out The Competition

Last Breath

has become a big success with viewers on streaming just over two months after its release. Directed by Alex Parkinson, Last Breath chronicles the true story of a crew of deep-sea divers who battle the elements in order to rescue their companion, who becomes trapped hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean. Liu stars in the film as Dave Yuasa, with the rest of the cast including Woody Harrelson as Duncan Allock, Finn Cole as Chris Lemons, and Cliff Curtis as Andre Jenson.

New data from Reelgood reveals that Last Breath ranks as the sixth most-popular movie on streaming in the U.S. for the week of April 24 – 30. The film, which is available on Peacock, beats other titles like The Order (2024), G20 (2025), and A Complete Unknown (2024), but falls short of others like Babygirl (2024) and The Accountant (2016), with Havoc (2025) ultimately claiming the top spot. Check out the full top 10 list below:

What This Means For Last Breath

The Film’s Reception Explained

On Rotten Tomatoes, the survival thriller currently enjoys an 80% critics’ score, with reviewers generally agreeing that the movie features some strong performances, particularly from Harrelson, in addition to some truly intense sequences of underwater peril. In her Last Breath review for ScreenRant, Mae Abdulbaki awards the film an eight out of 10, praising the way in which Parkinson does justice to the incredible true story at its heart:

Last Breath isn’t concerned with showing off; it’s not filled with glitzy action sequences or extravagant thrills. It trusts its story to be enthralling on its own — and it really is — and therein trusts us to engage with its very humble and old-school execution. Even the way its story unfolds feels a different ere. It’s straightforward but has enough character-building and stakes tied to its core tension.

The 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes suggests Last Breath was even more effective for general movie-goers, but this, unfortunately, wasn’t reflected in the movie’s box office performance. Made on an estimated budget of around $24 million, the movie grossed only $23 million worldwide. Last Breath‘s performance on streaming, however, is a testament to the ways in which quality movie-making can break through, and it seems like more viewers are now getting to enjoy the thrilling true story.

Source: Reelgood

Last Breath

8/10

Release Date

February 27, 2025

Runtime

93 minutes

Director

Alex Parkinson

Writers

Alex Parkinson, David Brooks, Mitchell LaFortune

Producers

Jared Underwood, Alastair Burlingham, Danny Mandel, Jeremy Plager, Anna Mohr-Pietsch, Gary Raskin, Stewart Le Marechal, Richard Da Costa, Andrew C. Robinson, Jonny Persey, David Brooks, Al Morrow, Dan Clifton, Hal Sadoff, Paul Brooks, Norman Golightly

• 
  

  Woody Harrelson

  Duncan Allcock

•