Robert De Niro's Twisted 113-Minute Crime Thriller Refuses To Back Down On Netflix Worldwide

Published Sep 25, 2026, 8:41 AM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Robert De Niro's new Netflix crime thriller is hanging on tight to the streaming service's global charts right ahead of the actor's major genre change in 2026. This year has been perfect in terms of Netflix's many thrillers, including both movies and TV shows. One of each medium ended up joining the hall of Netflix's biggest movies and TV shows of all time. On the TV side, crime thriller series I Will Find You became the 5th most-watched Netflix show ever, according to official Netflix data, while Alan Ritchson's sci-fi thriller War Machine is the 10th most popular Netflix movie of all time. Mixing that up with De Niro, an actor known for how he excels in the crime thriller genre, has led to immense success for the streaming service both in the United States and globally. After all, on the list of De Niro's best movies, there are iconic releases like Michael Mann's Heat, which is getting a sequel decades later; Martin Scorsese's gritty GoodFellas, among other collaborations between the director and actor; the star-studded The Godfather Part II, and many more. Now, De Niro is seeing continued streaming success with Netflix's The Whisper Man, a new R-rated crime thriller that refuses to back down. Robert De Niro's The Whisper Man Still Stands Tall On Netflix's Global Charts At the time of writing, The Whisper Man is still the 2nd most-watched movie on Netflix worldwide, according to data from FlixPatrol. The R-rated crime thriller was released on Netflix around the world on August 28, so, close to a month since its release, the fact that De Niro's latest entry in the genre that he knows so well is still one of the biggest movies in the world is a major win for the streamer and the actor. The Whisper Man also stars major names like Adam Scott (Severance), Michelle Monaghan (The White Lotus), Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass), and Michael Keaton. According to FlixPatrol, The Whisper Man is currently trending in 53 countries. Some of those include Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and more. Out of those nations, De Niro's The Whisper Man is the most-watched movie on Netflix in a single country right now: Serbia. On Netflix's global charts, the only film to rank above it at this time is Best of the Best, a new Netflix comedy released on September 18. The Whisper Man is currently the 8th most-watched movie on Netflix in the United States, ranking above Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers and The Angry Birds Movie 2. De Niro's Next Movie Comes With A Major Genre Change Credit: MovieStillsDB As De Niro's The Whisper Man shows no signs of slowing down on Netflix's global charts a month after its debut, the actor is getting ready to jump from a gritty crime thriller to a light comedy that brings back one of De Niro's best franchises. The actor's next movie is Focker-in-Law, which will be released exactly two months from now, arriving in theaters on November 25. Focker-in-Law is the fourth Fockers movie, reuniting De Niro with Ben Stiller and introducing Wicked's Ariana Grande to the comedy franchise. Based on the franchise's box office returns, it could continue The Whisper Man's success for De Niro. Release Date August 28, 2026 Runtime 106 minutes Director James Ashcroft Cast Writers Ben Jacoby, Chase Palmer, Alex North Producers Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Michael Disco, Angela Russo-Otstot, Mike LaRocca