Keri Russell’s drug-fueled comedy horror is proving that some movies never stay buried. The 2023 hit just clawed its way back into the streaming spotlight with a surprise appearance on Netflix’s charts.
Cocaine Bear is a huge hit on Netflix
Elizabeth Banks’ 2023 black comedy horror film Cocaine Bear has surged into Netflix’s Top 10 movies chart in the United States. Specifically, the film debuted at No. 3 on the platform’s most popular movies list on October 15, 2026, according to FlixPatrol data.
Universal Pictures originally released the film theatrically on February 24, 2023. Overall, it earned $90 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 to $35 million. The movie stars Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, and the late Ray Liotta.
Jimmy Warden wrote the screenplay, which draws loosely from real events in 1985. Essentially, a 175-pound American black bear died after consuming a duffel bag full of cocaine in northern Georgia. Meanwhile, drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II had dropped the shipment from his plane before dying in a parachute accident.
However, the film takes significant creative liberties with the true story. Notably, the real bear never attacked anyone after ingesting the drugs. Banks addressed this divergence in an interview with Variety, noting the movie could serve as a revenge story for the bear.
Critics gave Cocaine Bear mixed reviews upon its theatrical release. The film holds a 66% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 332 critics. Additionally, Metacritic assigned it a score of 54 out of 100 based on 58 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a “B-” grade on an A+ to F scale.
Currently, the film sits behind Animals and Doing Life on Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 movies chart. Its appearance on the streaming platform arrives just ahead of the Halloween season. Furthermore, Netflix’s Top 10 Kids Movies chart also features several spooky-themed titles this week, including the Ice Age franchise.
