Aaron Taylor-Johnson's New Riveting 97-Minute Crime Thriller Is Officially HBO Max #1 Movie In Just One Day

Published Sep 5, 2026, 5:33 PM EDT Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor. During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is always up for a challenge, and one of his most recent roles is a hidden gem. In the past two decades, the actor has had a fair share of heroic roles, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Quicksilver and Ford Brody in Godzilla. Meanwhile, he's also ventured into grey or antagonistic roles, and one role earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for Nocturnal Animals. Although his last few projects had him in a supporting capacity, 2026 has two movies that have Johnson in a leading role. His first project of the year was the new crime thriller, Fuze. Johnson portrays Major Will Tranter, who is brought in to defuse a bomb at a construction site while a bank robbery is happening. At the time of its release, Fuze earned relatively positive reviews, with praise for its clever premise, shocking twists, energetic direction, and the suspense between the two stories. Although Fuze only generated $5.6 million worldwide, it's finally making an impact on streaming. Fuze Is Officially The #1 Movie On HBO Max In Just One Day Following its streaming release on September 4, Fuze exploded on HBO Max's charts as the #1 movie in the United States. The thriller surpasses Normal, Practical Magic, The Last Samurai, The Revenant, The Craft, and Truth or Dare. The streaming performance may come down to word-of-mouth since its initial release. Fuze currently has a 72% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience rating has settled at 78%. Johnson's co-lead, Theo James, likely played a factor since The Gentlemen season 2 recently premiered on Netflix. The remaining cast features Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sam Worthington, while David Mackenzie is the director. The thriller works because of Johnson and James' performances and the twist in the final act. Although James' bank robber clearly has hidden intentions even after the heist, it's Johnson's role that becomes the biggest shocker. While the movie shows the two stories separately, the end of Fuze reveals how their arcs are connected and what caused these events to happen in the first place. Fuze's Streaming Redemption Comes Just Months Before Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Next 2026 Movie Despite its underwhelming box office, Fuze has clearly found redemption on streaming by entertaining a whole new audience at home. Even though the viewership numbers won't be available for a while, the crime thriller is already making a huge impact on HBO Max. Meanwhile, the streaming success comes just months before Johnson leads his next movie, Werwulf, which releases at the end of December. The star is reuniting with iconic director Robert Eggers after previously collaborating on Nosferatu in 2024. This time, Johnson is promoted to lead and plays the cursed framer and titular monster in 14th-century England. His next projects, Blood Snow and Cry to Heaven, are also in post-production but don't have a release date yet. While the countdown begins for Johnson's movie to be released in theaters, viewers now have a chance to check out his new heist thriller on HBO Max. Release Date April 24, 2026 Runtime 98 minutes Director David Mackenzie Writers Ben Hopkins Producers Gillian Berrie, Callum Grant, David Mackenzie, Sebastien Raybaud