Cillian Murphy's Ambitious Sci-Fi Gem Climbs Apple TV Charts

Since Apple TV expanded its catalog, subscribers have been enjoying a mix of modern and classic films. Departing from its seven-year tradition of showcasing only original movies, the streamer widened its library to include a selection of non-Apple TV films in a section titled "Great Movies Available Now on Apple TV." Titles such as Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Ryan Murphy's Eat, Pray, Love and 2019's Marvel entry Spider-Man: Far From Home have now arrived on Apple TV.

Another of the once-thought-impossible hits on the streamer is a 19-year-old sci-fi gem starring Cillian Murphy, who has had yet another busy year. The actor brought an end to the saga of his most famous character, Tommy Shelby, earlier this year, as Steven Knight's big-budget Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man launched on Netflix and proved a massive hit. Earning 25.3 million views in its first three days of release, The Immortal Man showed the Peaky Blinders story still has much more to give, with two six-episode seasons greenlit in response to fans' clamor before the film had even debuted.

Another of Murphy's most exciting 2026 appearances came at the very end of Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, as he reprised his role as Jim and set up the final chapter in the horror story. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland crafted pure flesh-hungry magic with the original 28 Days Later, eventually reuniting five years later on the aforementioned sci-fi gem that is currently proving popular on Apple TV.

Which Cillian Murphy Movie Is an Apple TV Hit?

At the time of writing, Sunshine is one of the ten most-watched movies on Apple TV worldwide. One of Boyle and Garland's best, the film was inspired by both the war classic Das Boot and Ridley Scott's Alien, and features a star-studded cast alongside Murphy, including Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh and Shōgun's Hiroyuki Sanada. An ambitious, often breathtaking sci-fi effort that buckles slightly under its own weight toward the end, Sunshine is a deserved addition to the Apple TV charts, even if it failed to prove popular at the 2007 box office.