Pierce Brosnan's Survival Movie Hits Netflix's Global Charts 28 Years Later

Pierce Brosnan will be best known to many viewers for playing iconic British superspy James Bond. The Irish actor first took on the role in 1995 with GoldenEye, returning for three sequels of varying success and quality. Brosnan's tenure as Bond ended with Die Another Day in 2002, but he remained a common sight in movies in the years afterward. Even during his tenure as Bond, Brosnan branched out to star in a handful of projects in other genres, affirming that he is more than just 007.

Shortly after making his debut as 007, Brosnan appeared in Mars Attacks! (1996) from director Tim Burton, playing professor Donald Kessler. The following year, he took on the disaster genre with Dante's Peak, starring opposite Linda Hamilton in Roger Donaldson's volcano thriller. Prior to his third outing as Bond, Brosnan also starred in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), John McTiernan's romantic crime caper. There's one late 1990s movie starring Brosnan, however, that flew under the radar, and viewers are now finding the movie on streaming.

Robinson Crusoe Becomes A Global Netflix Hit

The Pierce Brosnan Movie Is Finally Experiencing Success

Pierce Brosnan standing with a rifle over his shoulders in Robinson Crusoe

28 years after its quiet release, Robinson Crusoe is a big hit on Netflix. Co-directed by Rod Hardy and George Miller (not the George Miller behind the Mad Max franchise), the adventure survival movie is an adaptation of Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel of the same name. The feature film stars Brosnan as the title character, a Scottish gentleman and former Navy officer who becomes shipwrecked on a desolate island after fleeing his homeland following an accidental murder. Robinson Crusoe had a very limited release in the late '90s and went largely unseen.

Now, Netflix data reveals that Robinson Crusoe has become a success with viewers, and it ranks as the tenth most popular movie on the streaming service globally for the week of March 31 – April 6. With 3.4 million views and 5.1 million hours viewed, the Brosnan film falls behind other titles like The Electric State (2025), Con Mum (2025), and Kraven the Hunter (2024). Robinson Crusoe was a top 10 movie in 22 countries during the week in question, including Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela. Check out the full global top 10 chart below:

Netflix Global Top 10 (Mar. 31 – April 6)
Rank	Title	Total Views
1	The Life List	29.2M
2	One of Them Days	7.7M
3	Alpha	5.5M
4	Geostorm	4.9M
5	Sniper: Rogue Mission	4.8M
6	The Core	4.5M
7	Kraven the Hunter	4.2M
8	Con Mum	4M
9	The Electric State	3.8M
10	Robinson Crusoe	3.4M

Robinson Crusoe is not currently available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

What This Means For Robinson Crusoe

The Survival Movie Is Finally Finding Its Audience

Pierce Brosnan standing shirtless in Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe didn't release theatrically in the U.S. in 1997, nor did it in the U.K. As a result, it went widely underseen, and there aren't many reviews available, meaning it doesn't even have a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score. The audience-driven Popcornmeter score, however, isn't glowing at only 39%. Due to its very limited release, it's also challenging to properly judge the movie's box office performance, with Box Office Mojo reporting that the film grossed only $183,886 worldwide.

Robinson Crusoe's newfound success speaks to Brosnan's enduring popularity as a movie star. His face on the movie's Netflix tile combined with the familiar title could certainly be enough to get a subscriber to check the movie out. The film's newfound success also coincides with the release of MobLand on Paramount+, a buzzy crime thriller show in which Brosnan plays a starring role. Though Robinson Crusoe isn't making a big splash in the U.S. due to its lack of availability there, it's clear that global audiences are now discovering the film.

Source: Netflix