‘Fallout’ Star’s $275 Million Action Reboot Becomes a Global Netflix Favorite

Alicia Vikander played an AI robot in Ex Machina, and while it was brilliant even back in 2015, in hindsight it's now clear how accurate it was. Then, in 2018, she played Lara Croft opposite Fallout star Walton Goggins (who plays the primary antagonist, Mathias Vogel) in the video game adaptation's big-screen reboot. Both of those films are currently trending on their streaming homes — HBO Max and Netflix, respectively — right now.

The Lara Croft reboot didn't exactly do too well, either at the box office or with audiences and critics. It took in approximately $275 million worldwide and has a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score of 52% and an audience score of 55%. But that hasn't stopped it from trending on Netflix at the moment. According to FlixPatrol, the film is currently trending in over 30 regions on Netflix in the Top 10 Movies chart.

Not only that. On Prime Video, Tomb Raider has also been trending in the Philippines and Thailand for the past week. The movie runs 118 minutes and follows the origin story of 21-year-old Lara Croft (Vikander) as she investigates the mysterious disappearance of her father — not unlike the plot of the first live-action movie, the Angelina Jolie-led Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

What Happened to the Sequel to ‘Tomb Raider’

Alicia Vikander was originally supposed to return after 2018's Tomb Raider made good money worldwide for the franchise. MGM hired Amy Jump to write a sequel and Ben Wheatley to direct. They even set a March 2021 release date, before the pandemic disrupted production. Then Lovecraft Country creator Misha Green later took over as writer-director and completed a draft under the working title Tomb Raider: Obsidian.

However, MGM failed to greenlight the sequel before a pre-negotiated deadline, causing the rights to revert to GK Films. The movie rights reverted and ended Vikander's run as Lara Croft. Amazon subsequently secured new Tomb Raider rights and is now rebuilding the franchise separately, including the upcoming Prime Video series starring Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) as Lara, expected to release by 2027.