Forget Jaws, Netflix Has A New Streaming Hit With Star-Studded Creature Movie

3 hours ago 13

A man in a hat looking shocked in Cocaine Bear

Published Oct 17, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT

Ryan Northrup is a Senior Staff Writer on ScreenRant's Movie & TV News team, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and reviews. A graduate of McMaster University, Ryan began his career in public relations before attending Vancouver Film School. There, he built lasting industry connections and optioned a feature film screenplay.

Jaws remains one of the most important films of director Steven Spielberg's career, and a crucial film in Hollywood history. Widely considered the first modern Hollywood blockbuster, the 1975 film follows a local police chief and his crew as they embark on a mission to take down a killer shark. There have been a handful of Jaws sequels, and countless other movies that have taken the original film's premise and adapted it to new settings and killer animals. Now, a 2023 film that features some Jaws similarities is experiencing a resurgence with audiences.

Three years after its theatrical release, Cocaine Bear ranks as the fourth most popular movie on Netflix in the U.S., as of writing. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the film is more than just a new take on Jaws, and it actually adapts a wild true story.

Cocaine Bear Is Taking A Bite Out Of Netflix's Top 10

Cocaine Bear was a modest box office success at the time, grossing $88 million on a budget estimated to be around $35 million. Now, it's also beating some notable titles on Netflix, including Twilight (2008), Transformers One (2024), Ice Age (2002), Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), The Breadwinner (2026), and The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part (2026). The 2023 creature film falls behind Doing Life (2026), Terry McMillian Presents: Preach, Pray, Love (2025), and, in the top spot, Animals (2026), the new film from Ben Affleck.

Cocaine Bear is a mix of true crime, dark comedy, horror, and thriller elements, following a disparate group of people, including cops, criminals, tourists, and teens, as they converge on a Georgia forest where a cocaine-addled black bear embarks on a murderous rampage. The film is loosely inspired by real events in 1985, when a black bear died of a drug overdose after accidentally ingesting millions of dollars' worth of cocaine.

The Creature Feature Still Has One Of The Best Horror Casts

Cocaine Bear reviews may have been somewhat lukewarm, with the film sporting only a 61% critics' score and 71% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes, but the movie does feature an impressive assemblage of on-screen talent. Stars of the film include Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Matthew Rhys, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and the late Ray Liotta.

It remains to be seen whether Cocaine Bear's streaming domination will continue, but the film's cast and unique premise are likely part of the reason why it's now picking up steam on Netflix. Even though Banks' film will never be as acclaimed or legendary as Jaws, its recent streaming success speaks to the continued popularity of creature-based thrillers.