It's Officially The End Of An Era For Ryan Reynolds' Apple TV Action Thriller

2 weeks ago 16

Published Oct 5, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT

Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty.

However, one of his proudest achievements is editing a Leonardo DiCaprio freakout compilation that has over 150K views on YouTube. Adam also fancies himself an amateur film critic on his personal website.

Ryan Reynolds has built his star power across a lively mix of movies, from romantic comedies like Van Wilder (2002), Waiting... (2005), and The Proposal (2009) to superhero adventures such as Blade: Trinity (2004), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and Green Lantern (2011). But his biggest box-office triumphs have come as the wisecracking antihero, starring in Deadpool (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).

Recently, Reynolds has starred in several streaming movies, such as Netflix's 6 Underground (2019), Red Notice (2021), The Adam Project (2022), and Apple TV's Spirited (2022). His newest Apple TV movie is Mayday, starring as a U.S. Navy pilot on a top-secret mission during the Cold War who gets trapped behind enemy lines and allies with an eccentric ex-KGB agent (played by Kenneth Branagh).

Reynolds' Mayday Has Begun Its Descent On Apple TV

A month after its release on September 4, Mayday is no longer the No. 1 movie on Apple TV, currently ranking No. 3 in the United States for today, October 5. It ranks below The Last First: Winter K2, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and above Good Will Hunting, F1, Palmer, I, Robot, The Dink, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and The Gorge.

Despite its descent, Mayday reviews are mostly positive, resulting in an 83% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling it a lively adventure fueled by sharp wit and Kenneth Branagh's delightfully comedic performance that takes the chill out of Cold War tensions with plenty of charm and good-natured humor. It also has a 68% audience score.

Other than Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, its cast includes Marcin Dorociński, Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), David Morse, Clark Johnson, Wendy Crewson, Louis Cancelmi, Josh Hamilton, Lovell Adams-Gray, Alex Mallari Jr., and Alex Ozerov. Mayday was written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves).

What's The Movie Taking Over Apple TV's Top 10?

The Last First: Winter K2 is Apple TV's new No. 1 movie, a documentary following a team of mountaineers who, in 2021, attempted the first successful winter ascent of K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev, the documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on Apple TV on October 2.

At the time of writing, The Last First: Winter K2 has a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling it a gripping and emotionally powerful account that offers an unflinching examination of extreme mountaineering and the evolving culture surrounding it. For now, Mayday may be slipping down the charts, but it's still a fun ride worth catching on Apple TV.