Summary

Cold Meathas become a global Netflix hit. A co-production between the United Kingdom and Canada, writer-director Sébastien Drouin’sCold Meatis a snowysurvival thriller moviealong the lines ofThe Mountain Between Usand 2010’sFrozen, but with a supernatural twist. It follows a man who rescues a waitress from an abusive ex, only to end up trapped in his broken-down car in a snowy ravine, fighting for survival against a cannibalistic spirit. The movie, which had a limited theatrical release in February 2024, starsDownton Abbey’s Allen Leech,Doom: Annihilation’s Nina Bergman, andOutlander’s Yan Tual.

Netflixhas now calculated their official list of the Top 10 most-watched English-language movies for the week of May 27 through June 2.Cold Meatnabbed a place on the list at No. 9, thanks to 3.9 million viewers accumulating a total of 5.8 million hours viewed. The movie edged out the Marvel superhero blockbusterMadame Web, which took No. 10 during its third week on the chart after premiering at No. 2. This has been the case in spite of the movie not being available in the United States, one of the platform’s major markets.

Cold Meat Was Perfectly Placed To Become A Netflix Hit

The Movie Follows Another Major Snowy Survival Thriller

Overall, it makes sense why the movie would join the Top 10 list, performing competitively against recentNetflix original moviesincludingAtlas,Mother of the Bride, andThelma the Unicorn. One possible reason for its success is its generally good reception, earning a solidly Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%. The movie has not earned an audience score yet, but this number indicates thatthe reaction from critics has been overwhelmingly positive. Below, see how its critics score compares to every movie that is currently on the Netflix Top 10:

#1

19%

#2

18%

#3

46%

#4

Mother of the Bride(2024)

14%

#5

67%

#6

52%

#7

72%

#8

#9

92%

#10

Madame Web(2024)

11%

However, in addition to its critical reception, another important possible reason forCold Meatbecoming a hit is the fact that it has joined the streaming platform in the wake of the success of2023’sSociety of the Snow. That movie, which was directed byThe Orphanage’s J.A. Bayona, followed the real-life story of a rugby team who fought to survive after their plane crash-landed in the Andes. The movie, which earned a Certified Fresh score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, was a huge hit for the streaming service,going on to be nominated for two Oscars.

The story of the crash of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which forms the basis ofSociety of the Snow, was previously adapted to the screen in the 1993 movieAlive.

Another aspect that likely helpedCold Meatsucceed was the fact that it alsofeatures certain parallels to the hit Showtime seriesYellowjackets, which similarly revolves around cannibalism with a supernatural angle. However, given the fact thatSociety of the Snowwas a Netflix co-production, it is possible that the service may have prioritized bringing another wintry survival thriller into the fold based on that particular hit. Whether intentional or not, the decision seems to have paid off by bringing more attention to the independent movie.

Will Cold Meat Get A Sequel?

Precedent Says Cold Meat 2 Is A Possibility

It remains to be seen if the newfound attention forCold Meatwill lead to the movie getting a sequel, but this is far from unheard of for movie and television releases in the wake of achieving Netflix success, even for titles that aren’t Netflix originals. For instance, after the USA Network legal dramaSuits, which ended in 2019, became a record-breaking hit on the service,a pilot for a spinoff titledSuits: LAwas put into production by NBC, though the show has not yet been officially picked up to series.

The success ofCold Meatis nowhere near the billions of minutes that were racked up bySuits. However, because it’s a much smaller-scale independent production, evena significantly lower amount of success could be enough to push producers to mount a sequel. There is also a solid precedent for this happening when survival thrillers in particular hit big on Netflix, as theupcomingFall 2was put into production after the 2022 low-budget original appeared in the Netflix Top 10 despite already having been a theatrical success, earning $21.8 million against its $3 million budget.

Fallhas a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 79%, with an audience score that exactly matches it.

It is difficult to judge how much viewershipCold Meatwould have to draw to counteract the fact that it earned little money in theaters during its minor limited release. Ultimately, it seems likely itwill have to continue garnering success on Netflix andstay on the chart for a few more weeks to build up enough steamto earn a proper sequel. However,Cold Meat 2could very well be on the way before long, even if it has to center on a different cast depending on the stars' availability and the fates of their characters.