Pedro Pascal’s 87% Rotten Tomatoes R-Rated Comedy Finds Streaming Success After $29 Million Box Office Flop

Pedro Pascal recently made headlines thanks to his performance in Gladiator 2, the period action epic from Ridley Scott that has grossed over $450 million at the worldwide box office. However, a few years ago, he teamed up with a major star for a comedy that flew under the radar upon release, but has recently found a home and streaming success on a new platform. Pascal features alongside Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the 2022 R-rated comedy/action thriller that recently began streaming on Netflix and has climbed to #4 on the streamer’s charts. The film earned equally strong scores of 87% from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, but it only grossed $29 million at the box office against a $30 million budget.

Tom Gormican wrote and directed The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, with help from Kevin Etten on the script. It was only the second movie that Gormican had directed in his career, previously working on That Awkward Moment, the 2014 R-rated romantic comedy starring Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan, and Miles Teller that’s streaming for free on Pluto TV. He most recently served as the scribe for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the fourth installment in Eddie Murphy’s action comedy series that was also a streaming hit on Netflix. Between his work on That Awkward Moment and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Gormican worked on Ghosted, the 2017 parody series starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson that’s streaming on Hulu, not to be confused with the Apple TV+ movie starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas.

What Else Is in the Netflix Top 10?

Back in Action, the action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx, is the most popular movie of the week on Netflix. Sitting comfortably in the #2 and #3 spots on Netflix are the first two Despicable Me movies, which are set to depart the platform and give up their spots at the end of the month. Falling behind The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent in the Netflix top 10 are the first two Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker Rush Hour movies, along with Harrison Ford and Blake Lively’s The Age of Adaline, the supernatural romantic comedy.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent stars Pedro Pascal and Nic Cage, and was written and directed by Tom Gormican. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates and watch The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent on Netflix.