Henry Cavill and Guy Ritchie’s 91%-Rated Action Hit Finds New Life on Netflix
Henry Cavill and Guy Ritchie have another streaming success on their hands. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the 2024 World War II action film starring Cavill, has climbed to No. 1 on Netflix’s U.S. movie chart, giving the film a second life after a disappointing theatrical run. The movie’s current Netflix resurgence comes despite its relatively modest performance at the box office.
For Cavill, the latest streaming success adds to a career that has remained busy even after his runs as Superman and Geralt of Rivia came to an end. His collaborations with Ritchie have also become a recurring part of that post-franchise career, with the pair returning for the 2026 action thriller In the Grey, which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González.
Henry Cavill Leads a Rogue WWII Team
Directed and co-written by Guy Ritchie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare puts Cavill at the center of a large ensemble cast. He stars alongside Alan Ritchson, best known for Reacher, as well as Eiza González, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Cary Elwes, and Freddie Fox.
Cavill plays Gustavus “Gus” Henry March-Phillipps, a soldier whose approach to warfare is considerably less conventional than the traditional military playbook. The role gives the actor a chance to lean into the lighter, more mischievous side of an action hero rather than the darker intensity associated with his performances as Superman and Geralt.
That tone fits naturally with Ritchie’s filmmaking style. The director brings the same energetic mixture of action, irreverent humor, colorful characters, and larger-than-life personalities that has defined much of his work since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
The story itself is inspired by recently declassified files from the British War Department. It follows the formation of a secret British special forces organization during World War II, created under Prime Minister Winston Churchill with the involvement of military officials and author Ian Fleming.
The unit is sent behind enemy lines to take on the Nazis using unconventional tactics. The film presents these soldiers as a collection of rogues and mavericks whose unorthodox methods ultimately help establish the foundations of the British SAS and modern black-operations warfare.
Ritchie, however, does not approach the material as a straightforward historical war drama. The real events provide the foundation, while the movie turns them into a fast-moving action adventure shaped by the director’s distinctive style.
The Movie Is Now No. 1 on Netflix in the U.S.
That approach appears to be finding a much larger audience on streaming than it did in theaters.
According to Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 rankings reported on September 21, 2026, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare reached the No. 1 position among movies in the United States.
The reported Netflix Top 10 lineup was:
| Rank | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare |
| 2 | The Seemingly Perfect Family |
| 3 | Best of the Best |
| 4 | Why Did I Get Married Again? |
| 5 | Puss in Boots: The Last Wish |
| 6 | The Whisper Man |
| 7 | Those Who Wish Me Dead |
| 8 | The Angry Birds Movie 2 |
| 9 | Shark Tale |
| 10 | The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist |
The film’s rise is particularly notable because it arrived on Netflix more than two years after its original theatrical release. It has also recently appeared prominently in Netflix’s U.S. movie rankings, demonstrating the continued interest in Cavill and Ritchie’s action films.
A Box Office Disappointment With Stronger Audience Approval
The Netflix turnaround is striking because The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare struggled financially when it opened in theaters.
The movie earned approximately $29.7 million worldwide against an estimated $60 million budget. IMDb lists the final worldwide gross at $29,768,915, including $20,535,053 from the U.S. and Canada.
Its reception from audiences was considerably stronger than those box-office numbers might suggest.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds a 68% Tomatometer score from 168 critics, while its Popcornmeter score stands at 91% from more than 1,000 verified ratings.
That 91% audience score places the film among Cavill’s more highly rated movies with viewers on the site, with Zack Snyder’s Justice League remaining ahead of it among the films referenced in the original ranking.
The critical response has been more moderate. Rotten Tomatoes characterizes the movie as a high-energy action film that emphasizes spectacle, while its audience reception reflects a stronger appreciation for its cast, action sequences, and entertaining approach to the material.
The contrast between its theatrical performance and its current streaming popularity is therefore significant. A movie that failed to make back its reported production budget in theaters has found a considerably broader audience once viewers could discover it from home.
Cavill and Ritchie Are Already Working Together Again
The Netflix success also arrives as Cavill continues to build a post-Superman, post-The Witcher career around major action projects.
Cavill and Ritchie reunited with Eiza González for In the Grey, a 2026 action thriller that also stars Jake Gyllenhaal. Ritchie wrote and directed the film, which follows a covert team of elite operatives attempting to recover a billion-dollar fortune stolen by a ruthless despot. The mission develops into a larger conflict involving strategy, deception, and survival.
The film marks another collaboration between Ritchie and Cavill after The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, although the two movies take place in very different worlds.
Cavill also remains attached to the live-action Warhammer 40,000 project for Prime Video. Meanwhile, his next major feature includes the long-awaited Highlander reboot from John Wick director Chad Stahelski. First footage from the film was shown at CinemaCon in April 2026, with filming continuing across locations including Poland, the Scottish Highlands, and Hong Kong.
For now, though, one of Cavill’s older action films is enjoying an unexpected moment. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare may have struggled during its theatrical release, but its No. 1 position on Netflix shows that the film has found a new audience well after leaving cinemas.