Jason Statham’s 2-Year-Old Action Thriller Is Taking Over the World

1 week ago 7

Published Apr 5, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

Jason Statham and early-year actioners are a perfect pairing, and that's exactly how 2026 began as Statham returned with another ass-kicking masterclass. In his latest effort, Shelter, you won't be surprised to learn that Statham plays a former British government assassin who has now chosen to live a quieter life, only to be forced into using his skull-cracking expertise in the name of justice. Against a budget of $50 million, Shelter sadly failed to impress at the box office, running out of steam with a global haul of just $49 million.

What made this box office performance even more damning was the success of Statham's January 2024 movie, The Beekeeper. Against a budget of $40 million, The Beekeeper proved a smash hit, scoring a huge $152 million in global revenue, split between a domestic haul of $66 million and a further $86 million from overseas markets. Not only a hit financially, but The Beekeeper was also a success with both critics and audiences, earning a solid 71% from critics on the review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, and "Verified Hot" 92% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter.

After its enormous success, the actioner was quickly greenlit for a second installment, with The Beekeeper 2 seeing Timo Tjahjanto take over directorial control from David Ayer. Written by Umair Aleem, who takes over from Kurt Wimmer, the film is scheduled to hit theaters on January 15, 2027. However, if you're from Germany, you're in luck, as the movie will arrive a day early, on January 14. In anticipation of the sequel's release next year, the first movie, The Beekeeper, is one of the ten most-watched films on Peacock in the U.S.

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What Did Collider Say About 'The Beekeeper'?

Jason Statham as Adam Clay in 'The Beekeeper.'

In line with the views of others around the world, Collider's Nate Richard wrote a glowing review of The Beekeeper, awarding the film a strong 8/10 score. "The Beekeeper is made for a very specific audience. Those who don’t want their action paired with a large quantity of puns and cheese won’t find much here," he said. "It's an action movie with plot beats that might make certain audience members raise their eyebrows and scoff," Richard wrote, "but it will have Statham devotees smiling, laughing, and cheering in their seats."

The Beekeeper is streaming now on Peacock. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.