Ryan Reynolds' Best Action Movie Since 'Deadpool' Officially Steals All-Time Apple TV Record

Ryan Reynolds has been one of the most recognizable movie stars in the world for years, and his latest hit is quietly becoming one of the most successful films of his career. In the last few years, Reynolds has become increasingly known thanks to his role as Deadpool in the Marvel universe, where he's now playing the character three separate times. The first two Deadpool movies took place in the Fox X-Men universe, but they were mostly separated from other heroes, with a few exceptions. It wasn't until Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024 that Reynolds finally teamed up with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine for a buddy movie, and the success speaks for itself. Deadpool & Wolverine took the crown as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, at least until it was surpassed by The Odyssey earlier this year.

The last two years have been relatively quiet for Ryan Reynolds after starring in Deadpool & Wolverine, but he officially returned this year with a new movie that's taking over the world. Reynolds stars opposite legendary actor/director Kenneth Branagh in Apple TV's new Cold War movie, Mayday, which began streaming on the platform around the world earlier this month on September 4. News broke earlier this week that, after a successful launch on streaming, Mayday is now the most-watched Apple TV original movie ever during its initial 18-day viewing period. The film scored 8.7 million views during its first week on streaming, according to viewership analytics site Luminate, and it has continued steadily in one of the top spots a few weeks after its debut. Mayday was written and directed by the duo of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

What Is 'Mayday' About?

Mayday was one of Ryan Reynolds' best-reviewed films of his entire career, with an 83% from critics on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. The movie holds a less respectable 68% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter, with many admitting that the humor in the film didn't land. Apple TV's official synopsis for Mayday reads as follows:

“Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh team up in "Mayday," a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head. When hotshot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy "Assassin" Kelly (Reynolds) is sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War, the operation implodes, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with a penchant for American culture, Troy thinks he's toast —- but could an unlikely alliance between the two lead to Troy's rescue and a bond neither saw coming?”