The Rip Director's Box Office Bomb With Gerard Butler Blows Up Netflix's Top Charts

Director Joe Carnahan's latest crooked cop drama, "The Rip," has been doing pretty well both critically and with streaming audiences on Netflix, and it appears that's led folks to seek out at least one of his earlier, less-loved movies that's also on the streamer. Indeed, it seems that "Copshop," Carnahan's 2021 box office bomb starring Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo as a hitman and a conman both stuck in the same police station lockup, is absolutely killing it on the Netflix top charts in the U.S. right now (via FlixPatrol).

While "Copshop" only made about $7 million at the box office against an estimated $43.5 million budget, it was critically very well received, so it's great that the success of "The Rip" on Netflix has led a whole new set of would-be fans to give the film a shot. Our our "Copshop" review called it a "trashy, fun actioner" that was sort of entertainment junk food, but maybe we could all use a little of that these days. 

"Copshop" stars Butler specifically as Bob Viddick, a hitman who pretends to be a drunk driver in order to get arrested and end up in the same police station as his latest target: the con artist Teddy Muretto (Grillo). While the mere concept of Grillo and Butler as criminals trying to take one another down in a corrupt police precinct is honestly movie gold, it just wasn't enough to convince people to catch it on the big screen in 2021 (back when theaters were only beginning to reopen after the quarantine era of the COVID-19 pandemic). Now that people can watch this perfect popcorn flick at home from their couches, however, it's a totally different story. 

Look, sometimes you just need to watch something that's the movie equivalent of a really greasy, cheesy slice of garlic bread, and "Copshop" is that kind of movie. Writer and director Joe Carnahan has a pretty great track record when it comes to movies that keep you engaged and entertained, even if they're not exactly your typical awards material. Movies like "Smokin' Aces," "The A-Team," and even the brutal Liam Neeson-vs-wolves thriller "The Grey" are all guaranteed to keep you laughing, gasping, and sitting on the edge of your seat. Carnahan's movies let you escape reality for two hours, and that's its own kind of movie magic.

After the grim action of "The Rip," the absolute chaos of "Copshop" is probably a pretty refreshing tonal switch, and it's honestly just great that this underseen film is getting a second shot. Again, if you're so inclined, give it a stream yourself on Netflix.