Netflix’s Carry-On has officially secured its place among the platform’s biggest movie successes. The action thriller, starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman, is now the third most-watched Netflix film of all time, according to the streamer’s latest Global Top 10 rankings.
Released in December 2024, the film has accumulated 172.1 million views, trailing only KPop Demon Hunters and Red Notice on Netflix’s all-time global movie chart. The milestone further cements Carry-On as one of the platform’s most successful original action films.
Carry-On continues to attract audiences worldwide
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by T. J. Fixman, Carry-On follows TSA officer Ethan Kopek, played by Egerton, who becomes the target of a mysterious blackmailer during the busy Christmas travel season.
Forced into a deadly game against a dangerous traveler, Ethan must prevent a suspicious package from boarding a holiday flight while protecting the people closest to him. The fast-paced premise, combined with its airport setting and Christmas backdrop, has led many viewers to compare the movie to classic action thrillers such as Die Hard.
The film also stars Sofia Carson and Danielle Deadwyler, while Bateman earned praise for stepping into a rare villainous role.
Although Carry-On became one of Netflix’s biggest streaming hits, critical and audience reactions were more divided. The film holds a Certified Fresh critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers praising its suspense, performances, and old-school action-thriller approach.
Audience scores, however, were noticeably lower, with some viewers criticizing parts of the story despite acknowledging the film’s entertaining pace. Even so, the strong viewership numbers demonstrate that the movie resonated with a global audience and continues to attract new viewers long after its debut.
Taron Egerton says Carry-On 2 needs the right story
Despite the film’s record-breaking performance, Netflix has not officially announced a sequel.
Speaking about the possibility of returning, Egerton explained that creating a follow-up would be challenging because the original’s holiday setting and central premise are difficult to replicate naturally.
“Carry-On 2 is really hard,”
Egerton said.
“It’s a celebration of Christmas and a celebration of people who work at Christmas. It then needs to have this huge plot that needs to be foiled… All of that is quite hard to achieve in a sequel without it feeling contrived and to the point of defying credulity.”
For now, Carry-On remains one of Netflix’s biggest original movie successes, and while a sequel has yet to receive the green light, its record-setting performance ensures it will remain part of the conversation whenever the streamer considers expanding the franchise.
