Audiences across the United States are finally discovering Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, starring Tom Cruise. The action movie, a sequel to 2012’s Jack Reacher, has managed to find itself atop Nielsen’s recent streaming ratings charts.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was the top streaming movie between July 29 and Aug. 4, 2024, with 697 million minutes streamed, according to Nielsen. The 2016 movie came in ahead of several new releases, such as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (560M), Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (476M), Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (414M), and Tarot (291M). Never Go Back also landed at #10 on Nielsen’s overall chart, which includes both movies and television series. It is worth noting that Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing only on TV sets in the United States and do not include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices.

Based on Lee Child’s 2013 novel, Never Go Back, the 2016 action movie finds Cruise’s Jack Reacher going on the run with Army Major Susan Turner (The Avengers‘ Cobie Smulders), who has been framed for espionage, as the two reveal a dark conspiracy. While the action sequences and Cruise’s performance were praised, Never Go Back otherwise received mixed reviews from critics, with many considering it inferior to its predecessor. The movie also failed to do as well at the box office as 2012’s Jack Reacher, grossing only $162 million, compared to the $218 million the first movie did.

Could Jack Reacher Return to the Big Screen?

After the box office disappointment of Never Go Back, the Jack Reacher franchise was rebooted for the small screen, with Alan Ritchson in the title role. Christopher McQuarrie — who wrote and directed the 2012 movie — told Empire in 2020 that he and Cruise have talked about a third Reacher movie, with the pair hoping to make it R-rated. However, McQuarrie stated that a return to the world of Jack Reacher is down on their list of priorities, with the duo instead focusing on several other projects, such as the untitled eighth Mission: Impossible movie. Edward Zwick, who directed Never Go Back, has also indicated that he would be open to helming a third Jack Reacher movie “should Tom happen to call.”

Alan Ritchson Praises Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher Performance

While Jack Reacher fans have grown to enjoy the Cruise-led duology, many were not happy when Cruise’s casting was first announced due to the actor not physically aligning with how Reacher is described in Child’s books. Most of the complaints were directed at Cruise’s 5′ 7″ height, which is several inches shorter than the 6′ 5″ Reacher is described as being in the books. Ritchson, who stands 6′ 2″ tall, is a closer match to Child’s Reacher. The actor, who has so far starred as the title character in two seasons of television, with a third in post-production, has also been praised for his performance.

When asked back in January 2024 if he had grown tired yet about his Reacher being compared to Cruise’s, Ritchson responded, “Never. Being compared to the most legendary actor of all time? The last film star? I would never tire of being compared to somebody of his stature.” The actor added, “Look, he did his thing, he brought a lot of eyes to this project that wouldn’t be here otherwise, I think. There’s some great IP, the books are great, a lot of people have read them and enjoy the show because of them, but I think a lot of people enjoy the show because he made them aware of it.”

Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back are currently streaming on Netflix and Paramount+.