Steve Carell's New Comedy Thriller Is HBO Max's Most-Watched Movie Right Now

Hollywood is evidently resigned to the sad reality that comedies are no longer viable as theatrical releases. There seemed to be hope for the genre when the 2023 Glen Powell-Sydney Sweeney rom-com "Anyone But You" grossed a healthy $219 million at the worldwide box office against a $25 million budget.Unfortunately, the year that followed was a wash, with the Best Picture-winner "Anora" leading the way for the genre with a $59.8 million global take (which is terrific for a $6 million movie but not the kind of performance that had the industry cheering for a return of the big screen comedy).

I think it's silly to write off comedies altogether, though, and would cite the $51.9 million gross of this year's hilarious Keke Palmer-SZA buddy flick "One of Them Days" as evidence that people will show up, provided the film is properly marketed, but it's hard to test this hypothesis when Hollywood remains gun shy about the genre. We'll have to wait and see how Celine Song's star-studded rom-com "Materialists" performs in two weeks, but until then I'm going to be left wondering what would've happened if Jesse Armstrong's "Mountainhead," his feature follow-up to the finale of "Succession," would've done if released into the wilds of the nation's multiplexes. Judging from its first week numbers on HBO Max, it might've been a summer counter-programming hit.

According to FlixPatrol, Armstrong's satire about a group of douchebro billionaires, all of whom congregate at a high-altitude retreat to hang out as the rest of the world is plunged into chaos because of their reckless business decisions, is currently the top-viewed movie on the platform. Though the film received fairly prominent placement on the streamer's front page, I've seen much more aggressive pushes that have failed to generate this many views.

There are caveats aplenty here. "Succession" might've been a media sensation with the social media smart set, but it never did anywhere near blockbuster numbers for HBO (which is likely why Armstrong went straight to the premium television service with "Mountainhead" rather than hitting up, say, A24). Also, the dialogue-driven "Mountainhead" is essentially a play, and its dramatis personae are every bit as despicable as the Roy family. And while the cast is stacked with top-tier talent (Steve Carrell, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman), their banter is so laden with tech-culture speak that many viewers may have trouble keeping up.

All that aside, the film is very much of the moment, dealing with the reality-distorting horrors of AI, deep fakes, and social media-driven conflict in a way that calls to mind the pitch-dark caustic humor of Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Though some critics have complained that Armstrong is wielding a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel, a) I do not think "Succession" was ever particularly subtle, and b) desperately absurd times call for desperately angry ridicule.

Though small in scope, "Mountainhead" has impressive production values and is gripping throughout. It would've been nice for folks to gather and howl en masse at the awfulness of the people who are destroying our lives. It wouldn't have changed anything, but we sure could've used the collective laugh.