Simon Kinberg’s box office flop, The 355, finds a new life as a Netflix Top 10 Hit

The 355, Simon Kinberg’s 2022 female-led action thriller, was a box-office bomb - grossing only $27.8 million worldwide against a $75 million budget, leading to significant losses for Universal. The film received a 24% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of Kinberg's worst-performing directorial endeavors. However, despite its initial failure, The 355 made a stunning comeback three years later on the streaming platform Netflix.

On August 22, 2025, The 355 made it into Netflix's chart of Top 10 movies streaming in the United States, occupying the sixth spot. This change demonstrates how an unsuccessful movie in theaters can nevertheless hold audiences' attention online. Even though critics and moviegoers rejected The 355, its compelling ensemble cast and thrilling plot made it popular on streaming services, illustrating how the dynamics of movie success have changed in the on-demand era.

As of publication, The 355 ranks below KPop Demon Hunters, Fall for Me, Broke, Night Always Comes, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on Netflix US, while standing above Despicable Me 2, Happy Gilmore 2, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, and Home. 

Everything to know about The 355

The 355 is a 2022 American action spy thriller directed by Simon Kinberg, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Theresa Rebeck, based on an original story by Rebeck. It was released in theaters across the United States on January 7, 2022.

The plot centers on a group of female spies from around the world who get together to recover a potent decryption disk that can access any digital system on the planet. The device has fallen into the hands of merceneries, and in order to stop a worldwide disaster, the women must go past their rivalries and mistrust.

The main cast of The 355 includes Jessica Chastain as CIA agent Mason "Mace" Brown; Diane Kruger as German agent Marie Schmidt; Lupita Nyong'o as former MI6 operative Khadijah Adiyeme; Penélope Cruz as Colombian psychologist Graciela Rivera; and Fan Bingbing as enigmatic tracker Lin Mi Sheng. Sebastian Stan plays Nick Fowler, and Édgar Ramírez plays Luis Rojas, a Colombian spy.

Previous works of Simon Kinberg

Simon Kinberg is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He started his career authoring XXX: State of the Union. In 2005, he co-wrote the popular movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith while attending film school. The Marvel movie X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) was co-written by him. He also wrote and produced Jumper (2008) and created the script for Sherlock Holmes (2009).

He played a pivotal role in the development of the X-Men film franchise under Fox, directing Dark Phoenix (2019), producing Deadpool (2016), Logan (2017), and Deadpool 2 (2018), and writing X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016). Additionally, he produced critically praised movies like Murder on the Orient Express, The Martian, Cinderella, and Chappie.

In 2022, he wrote, produced, and directed The 355. He co-produced and co-created Star Wars Rebels on television and has executive-produced series such as Legion, The Gifted, Designated Survivor, and the Twilight Zone revival. Kinberg's career demonstrates his adaptability in both television drama and Hollywood's popular franchises.

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