Clint Eastwood's Final Western Gains New Life as Netflix Hit

David Zaslav's legacy as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO will be mixed — the studio underwent significant cost-cutting during his tenure, which ended with its acquisition by Skydance — but he backed one film out of personal loyalty, or at least to do right by an old friend. He is said to have personally pushed for the gangster movie The Alto Knights, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert De Niro in dual roles. The film flopped at the box office, grossing $10 million against a reported budget of $50 million. Zaslav reportedly disapproved of other executives making emotional decisions, questioning the green-lighting of one of Clint Eastwood's final films.

That film was approved despite questionable commercial prospects because of Eastwood's decades-long relationship with the studio. As expected, it underperformed at the box office, but it is now seeing a revival thanks to Netflix. The film was part of the infamous "Project Popcorn," under which every movie on Warner Bros.' 2021 slate was released day-and-date on HBO Max and in theaters. Because it was available on streaming, Eastwood's film grossed roughly half of its reported $33 million budget. Movies such as The Matrix Resurrections, The Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman 1984 saw similar setbacks.

Zaslav drew criticism for denying Eastwood's follow-up project, Juror No. 2, a theatrical release in North America. The film was eventually released in only around 30 locations despite receiving excellent reviews. Eastwood called it a day after the film's 2024 release, ending a seven-decade career. He had seemingly quit acting in 2018 with the crime drama The Mule, released a decade after Gran Torino.

Clint Eastwood's Neo-Western Finds an Audience on Netflix

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But he chose to star in a Western one last time in 2021. That film was, of course, Cry Macho. Unlike The Mule, which grossed around $175 million worldwide, Cry Macho was a box-office misfire. The film received mixed reviews and now sits at a 57% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Cry Macho proves Clint Eastwood remains an economic filmmaker and charismatic screen presence — albeit one who's an awkward fit for this particular project."