AceShowbiz - In 2013, action icons Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger first shared top billing in the thriller Escape Plan. Though both stars had appeared together in the Expendables franchise, Escape Plan marked their initial co-lead appearance, making it a notable event for action enthusiasts. Despite mixed critical reception, with a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film delivered solid entertainment largely driven by its two leads.

Financially, Escape Plan performed moderately well, earning $137.3 million worldwide against an estimated $54-70 million budget. This success justified a sequel, which has recently become a streaming sensation.

For the week of April 13th to 19th, Escape Plan 2: Hades ranked as the No. 9 film globally on Netflix. During that week, it attracted 3 million views and amassed 4.6 million hours of total watch time. This marked the sequel’s debut appearance in Netflix’s global top 10, narrowly surpassing the thriller Anaconda to claim the ninth spot.

The sequel’s casting diverged from the original pairing as Schwarzenegger chose not to return, focusing on other projects. Instead, Dave Bautista joined Sylvester Stallone as the new co-star. By the time of the sequel’s release, Bautista had become a fan-favorite action star, recognized especially for his role as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

However, despite the marketing emphasis on the Stallone-Bautista duo, Escape Plan 2 deviated from expectations. The two stars shared limited screen time, with the movie’s primary protagonist actually played by Huang Xiaoming. This shift likely reflects the franchise’s stronger international appeal compared to its domestic performance.

The original Escape Plan was a major overseas hit, earning only $25.1 million domestically but over 81% of its total revenue internationally. It found particular success in Asian and European markets. Consequently, the sequel was tailored to international audiences, focusing on Huang’s character to cater to these viewers. The U.S. market was largely secondary, as Escape Plan 2 bypassed American theaters and went straight to video, while still enjoying theatrical runs in Russia and China.

From a business standpoint, the strategy of prioritizing international appeal was logical but did not translate into critical success. The sequel was widely criticized, earning a mere 7% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Stallone himself expressed dissatisfaction with the production experience and the film’s outcome.

Following this, Escape Plan 3: The Extractors continued the trend, skipping U.S. theaters and earning predominantly negative reviews. It is striking that a franchise originally built around the celebrated Stallone-Schwarzenegger partnership has devolved into a largely disposable direct-to-video series. This highlights the drastic changes in the action genre’s landscape since the stars’ 1980s and 1990s prime. Had the original film been made during that era, it might have been among the year’s biggest releases.

Currently, Escape Plan 2: Hades is not available on Netflix in the United States, so all reported streaming figures come from international viewers. This reinforces the franchise’s historical strength outside America. International Netflix users have embraced the sequel despite the misleading promotional focus on Stallone and Bautista as co-leads.

Overall, while the franchise’s direction has shifted considerably since the original hit, the streaming success of Escape Plan 2 abroad demonstrates the continuing appeal of action star power combined with international market considerations. Whether future installments will reconcile the franchise’s international focus with its original American roots remains to be seen.

Readers are invited to share their thoughts and participate in the discussion at the ComicBook Forum.