84% RT Movie With Two of the Decade’s Best Actors Is a Netflix Hit, 3 Years After Box Office Disappointment

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The 2020s have seen a surge in Elvis Presley biopics. We first got the 2022 film Elvis, which launched Austin Butler to stardom, though it was criticized for being overly dramatic and for Tom Hanks’ performance. Then came Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla in 2023. Now, Priscilla is finding success on Netflix, even if it didn’t initially resonate with audiences as much as hoped. Many consider it a stronger film than Elvis, and it’s possibly Coppola’s best work since Lost in Translation (2003), though opinions on her film The Beguiled vary.

The movie likely gained traction thanks to its stars, Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, who were both featured in popular Netflix films in 2025 – Wake Up Dead Man and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. But why has this A24 film taken a while to connect with viewers, and how many people are watching it now on Netflix? Let’s take a look.

How Did Priscilla Perform in Theaters & How Is It Doing on Netflix?

Made with a $20 million budget, the movie Priscilla earned almost $21 million in the US and another $12 million internationally, totaling $33.1 million worldwide. While it wasn’t a complete failure at the box office, it didn’t perform as well as expected, especially given its romantic focus on two well-known stars – one a famous musician and the other known for comedies like The Naked Gun and the TV show Dallas. This is even more surprising considering actor Jacob Elordi was in the cast, having already become popular through The Kissing Booth films and the series Euphoria.

The movie Priscilla didn’t showcase either of its stars when they were at the height of their fame. While it wasn’t nominated for an Oscar (though Cailee Spaeny did win Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival), it was a crucial early role for both actors and helped launch their careers.

This movie established both actors as leading stars. Before this, Hunter Schafer and Jacob Elordi were known for supporting roles, but afterward, they began headlining films. Elordi quickly followed up with Saltburn and has since starred in Frankenstein, with upcoming roles in Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie and Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars with Margaret Qualley and Josh Brolin. He’s now firmly cemented his status as a major movie star.

The same is true for Spaeny. She first gained attention with memorable supporting roles in films like Pacific Rim Uprising and Bad Times at the El Royale, then landed a leading role in The Craft: Legacy. However, Priscilla proved to be a more critically acclaimed project, which opened doors to significant parts in Civil War, the lead in Alien: Romulus, and a substantial role in Wake Up Dead Man. Clearly, she’s now being cast in major franchises and has become a leading actress.

From December 29th to January 4th, the movie Priscilla landed at number ten on Netflix’s list of the most popular films in the U.S. Topping the chart was the documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, followed by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the action film Wrath of Man, and Netflix originals KPop Demon Hunters and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Rounding out the top ten were Man on Fire, Ford v. Ferrari, The Girl Who Got Away, and Pitch Perfect 2.

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2026-01-11 20:17