Ben Affleck’s Animals is the movie nobody can stop watching on Netflix. The kidnapping thriller debuted on October 9, 2026, drew 23.8 million views in its first days, and has now held the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s global English-film chart for two straight weeks, with 30.8 million views in its second week alone. Here is the story behind the hit.
1. The plot
Affleck directs and stars as Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. With most of their money spent on the campaign, Mark and his wife Abigail (Kerry Washington) have only hours to raise the ransom — and getting the money means exposing secrets they never wanted the public to see. Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez and Adriana Paz co-star.
2. A troubled production
The film has an unusual behind-the-scenes story. Production was weeks away when Affleck shut it down, realizing the story felt too close to Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. He reworked it, took the lead role himself after Matt Damon — originally set to star — left over scheduling conflicts, and stayed on with Damon as producer. Kerry Washington replaced Jennifer Garner in the cast during the rework.
3. The reviews are mixed
Critics have been unkind, with Rotten Tomatoes scores in the low 30s and a Metacritic score of 31. But audiences are watching anyway — Animals has more than four times the views of the No. 2 film on Netflix. Affleck’s performance as a politician desperate to seem down-to-earth has drawn the most praise.
4. The Affleck-Netflix machine
Animals follows Affleck’s previous Netflix hit The Rip, and Netflix recently bought his AI company InterPositive. Whether the numbers hold, one thing is clear: Affleck is now one of Netflix’s most reliable draws. Watch the trailer on the movie’s page.
