Russell Crowe’s 137-Minute War Epic Officially Remains a Global Streaming Smash

2026 has been an up-and-down year for Russell Crowe, but one of his older movies is finding new life thanks to an underrated streaming service. Crowe has starred in a few movies this year, but he’s yet to find the same box office success fans could once count on him for. Near the end of 2025, Crowe returned to decent form with the premiere of his passion project, Nuremberg, the WWII legal thriller written and directed by James Vanderbilt. The film put up a respectable outing at the box office before also going on to become one of the most-watched movies of the year on Netflix. Crowe’s older movies continue to outshine his newer films on streaming, but when he returns soon to star alongside Henry Cavill in Highlander, there’s a solid chance his movie-star status will be restored.

During Crowe’s earlier years as an actor, when he was regularly working with Ridley Scott, the two consistently delivered some of the biggest box office hits. Just two years after Crowe won his first and only Oscar for his performance as Maximus in Gladiator, he teamed up with Paul Bettany (VisionQuest) and Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings) for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the adventure epic that was directed by Peter Weir. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World had been absent from streaming for months, but as part of a wider initiative to include more older movies on its platform, Apple TV recently added the 2003 film to its streaming library, and it has since crept into the top 10 as one of the most-watched titles in the world.

What Is ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’ About?

In addition to Crowe, Bettany, and Boyd, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World also stars James D’Arcy as Tom Pullings, Robert Pugh as Mr. Allen, and Ian Mercer as Mr. Hollar. The film is based on the series of novels by Patrick O’Brian, with director Peter Weir working with John Collee on the screenplay. The official synopsis for the film, which earned scores of 85% from critics and 80% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, reads as follows:

“In 1805, aboard the H.M.S. Surprise, the brash Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his trusted friend, the ship's scholarly surgeon, Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), are ordered to hunt down and capture a powerful French vessel off the South American coast. Though Napoleon is winning the war and the men and their crew face an onslaught of obstacles, including their own internal battles, 'Lucky Jack' is determined that nothing will stop the Surprise from completing its mission.”