In 2024, Welsh actor Luke Evans starred alongside Rory Culkin in an motion thriller that, within the pre-streaming age, would have gone on to DVD. However in our present period, “5lbs of Stress” — named for the quantity of pressure wanted to fireside a typical handgun — has discovered an viewers on Netflix after a really restricted theatrical run. The movie’s streaming success is nearly definitely as a result of truth we won’t assist however be tempted by something new that hits the “lately added” class. However many viewers certainly additionally recall a time when Evans helped carry a J. R. R. Tolkien basic to life on the large display.
Within the early 2010s, Evans was finest recognized for his position in Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood” (a historic motion flop that deserves a second probability) and for enjoying Apollo in Louis Leterrier’s “Conflict of the Titans” remake. Then, when Peter Jackson solid him as Bard the Bowman in his three-film adaptation of Tolkien’s 1937 novel “The Hobbit,” he turned a part of one of the beloved cinematic franchises of the fashionable age. Evans performed the Smaug slayer in 2013’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and 2014’s “The Hobbit: The Battle of the 5 Armies.” His star was clearly on the rise.
In newer years, Evans has branched out, releasing an album in 2019 whereas taking a task in Hulu’s “9 Excellent Strangers” and starring within the 2026 Broadway manufacturing of “The Rocky Horror Image Present.” He even appeared alongside “Yellowstone” star Kelly Reilly within the 2018 abduction thriller “10×10,” which hit Netflix in 2026. Now, Evans is again to dominate the Netflix charts together with his in any other case neglected thriller “5lbs of Stress,” and it seems as if the movie would possibly simply take the highest spot on the streamer’s present most-watched films chart.
5lbs of Stress is a Netflix hit
“5lbs of Stress” is directed by Phil Allocco, who made his function directorial debut with 2017’s “The Fact about Lies.” Luke Evans stars within the movie as Adam, an ex-con who returns to his outdated neighborhood in New York (Manchester, England, of all locations, stands in for the Massive Apple) after serving a 16-year sentence for homicide. There, he tries his finest to reconnect together with his son, who grew up with out Adam in his life and is cautious about granting forgiveness. Elsewhere, Eli (Zac Adams), the brother of the person Adam murdered, is not thrilled to see him again on the road, whereas Eli’s finest pal Mike (Rory Culkin) is determined to flee from his drug-dealing uncle (Alex Pettyfer).
The film’s 57% Rotten Tomatoes rating is not all that flattering, but it surely’s additionally not the worst doable consequence. Each “prime critics” critiques on the web site are optimistic as effectively, with Catherine Bray of The Guardian awarding the movie three stars and deeming it “respectable.” Selection‘s Dennis Harvey was much more complimentary, writing, “‘5lbs’ weaves an engaging-enough net of misunderstandings, grudges, and doomed trajectories amongst numerous shady sorts.” It may not be the most effective motion thriller on Netflix, then, but it surely’s definitely captured individuals’s consideration.
“5lbs of Stress” was given a simultaneous theatrical and digital launch by Lionsgate in 2024, however solely made $32,070 in theaters internationally. (Its home gross is unavailable.) Now, the movie has hit Netflix, debuting on the streamer on June 21, 2026, and, per FlixPatrol, arriving at quantity 4 on america film charts. As of June 23, 2026, it is hit quantity three. Whether or not Evans can shoot his technique to the highest stays unclear, but it surely’s a stable debut for a movie that may have in any other case been solely forgotten.
