Matt Damon’s 2026 has included major projects such as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the forthcoming Netflix crime thriller Animals, which reunites him with Ben Affleck. Yet his biggest success this year has come from a less heavily promoted film.
The Rip, a 113-minute crime thriller starring Damon and Affleck, has become Netflix’s most-watched movie of 2026 so far. The result puts a relatively under-the-radar release ahead of several major theatrical films in home viewing.
The Rip leads the 2026 streaming movie rankings
Through the first half of the year, The Rip recorded 4.432 billion minutes watched, making it the leading streamed movie released in 2026. Nielsen’s published figures place it comfortably ahead of War Machine, another Netflix original, which accumulated 3.531 billion minutes.
Other films in the ranking included Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed vampire thriller Sinners, Jurassic World Rebirth and Sony’s reboot of Anaconda. None matched The Rip’s viewing total, despite attracting more discussion around their theatrical releases.
The figures suggest that Damon and Affleck’s pairing remains a powerful draw, even when a film does not dominate the wider entertainment conversation. Viewers have continued to seek out the two actors together on screen.
A police operation turns into a fight for survival
Directed by Joe Carnahan, The Rip follows a team of Miami police officers who discover millions of dollars concealed in a stash house. What initially appears to be a straightforward operation soon becomes a tense struggle involving suspicion, paranoia and betrayal.
As the officers question one another’s motives, trust inside the group begins to collapse. The ensemble also features Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, Teyana Taylor and Nestor Carbonell.
For readers who enjoy the pressure and split-second decisions of crime thrillers, the film’s setup has an obvious arcade parallel: a routine mission that steadily becomes more dangerous. That same escalation is central to classic light-gun shooters and other arcade shooting games.
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Damon and Affleck’s next Netflix project is already in motion
The Rip continues a long-running creative partnership between Damon and Affleck. The pair won an Academy Award for writing Good Will Hunting in 1998 and later appeared together in Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Last Duel and Air.
Their next collaboration is Animals, an upcoming Netflix crime thriller directed by Affleck. Damon is set to star, while Affleck will also appear alongside Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Ray Fisher and Adriana Paz.
Plot details for Animals remain largely secret. However, The Rip’s streaming performance gives Netflix a strong reason to expect continued interest in the next Damon-Affleck project. More information about the film is available in Netflix’s announcement about the upcoming crime thriller Animals.
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