ComScore

This Chilling Russell Crowe Flick Has Overtaken ‘Heart of Stone’ to Become the Top Movie on Netflix

PureWow editors select every item that appears on this page, and the company may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story. All prices are accurate upon date of publish. You can learn more about the affiliate process here.

Russell Crowe.
Marilla Sicilia/Getty Images

It's not quite scary season yet, but it seems Netflix viewers are already in the mood for chilling horror flicks. On August 16, the Russell Crowe thriller, The Pope’s Exorcist, was uploaded to Netflix, and in less than a week, it moved into the top spot on the site's most-watched movies list. With this jump, it surpassed the Gal Gadot-starring Heart of Stone, the popular family flick Despicable Me and the juicy new documentary Untold: Johnny Football. Check out the trailer below.

In this supernatural drama directed by Julius Avery (Samaritan) and based on the books An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories by Father Gabriele Amorth, Crowe portrays the real-life Father Amorth, AKA the personal exorcist to the Pope.

When Father Amorth is sent to Spain to heal a boy who has seemingly been possessed, he finds the job to be harder than any of his prior exorcisms. Meanwhile, as the Pope suddenly falls ill, Father Amorth makes some horrifying discoveries that leave him questioning everything.

In addition to its Academy Award-winning star, the cast of The Pope's Exorcism also includes Daniel Zovatto (It Follows), Alex Essoe (Midnight Mass), Franco Nero (Letters to Juliet), Cornell John (EastEnders) and Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, in his feature film debut.

The screenplay was written by Michael Petroni (The Book Thief) and Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Unholy).

The Pope's Exorcism was originally released to theaters back in April, where it grossed over $75 million at the global box office. That same month, it was reported by Bloody Disgusting that a sequel to the film was already in development, and the outlet expected Crowe to reprise his role as Father Amorth.

We know what we'll be streaming tonight (but we might have our eyes covered for half of it).

Want all the trending Netflix titles sent right to your inbox? Click here.

Prime Video’s ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Is a Sexy, Modern Fairytale That Honors the Best-Selling Book



calfee

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the former Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features Editor at ROCKET Magazine. When he's not dissecting the latest trends in entertainment (or guiding you on what to watch), he covers all the hottest red carpet looks and fashion movements. When he steps away from the keyboard, you can likely find him at an NYC concert, thrift store or LGBTQ+ bookstore happily perusing the shelves.