Nicolas Cage's Bonkers Sci-Fi Classic Is Officially Coming to Free Streaming

With Nicolas Cage in the middle of yet another comeback — he will soon make an awards bid with the upcoming film Madden — it's a great time to revisit one of the most divisive films of his heyday. The movie in question was released in 2009, just a couple of years after National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and one year before the movie that changed the trajectory of Cage's career: The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The critical and commercial failure of the big-budget fantasy film left Cage struggling to secure leading parts in major movies for the next few years. He bounced back with the acclaimed drama Pig, and then with the chilling supernatural thriller Longlegs.

Pig and Longlegs showcased the entire spectrum of Cage's range as a performer — the former being an understated character study and the latter featuring one of the most gonzo turns of Cage's career. The 2009 movie, Knowing, found Cage in a relatively restrained state, although it surrounded him in a bonkers plot. Also starring Rose Byrne and Ben Mendelsohn, Knowing follows a professor who discovers a mysterious scroll inscribed with dates of major disasters of the past 50 years, and three yet to happen. The movie was a commercial hit, grossing more than $185 million worldwide against a reported budget of $50 million. Including the $25 million-plus that it made through DVD sales, the film's total revenue stands at more than $200 million — and that's before streaming income is factored in.