A 13-year-old buddy-cop comedy is beating Netflix's own films on the global chart

Every so often, one of those older studio comedies sneaks onto Netflix and absolutely refuses to budge from the charts, elbowing aside whatever supposedly 'must-watch' original they've just dropped. This month, it's The Heat — a 2013 buddy-cop comedy that's somehow managed to become one of the streamer’s biggest global hits, thirteen years after it first arrived in cinemas. Not a bad innings for a film that’s spent most of the past decade gathering dust on streaming menus.

The Heat shot up to No. 2 globally on Netflix and held Australia’s No. 1 movie slot for five consecutive days.

If you’ve been watching Netflix's global leaderboard, you’ll have clocked that it's usually dominated by in-house jobs like The Whisper Man and Facing El Chapo. But then The Heat dropped in, spent the second half of August barging its way into the top ranks in dozens of countries, and was still sitting pretty at No. 7 worldwide as of 30 August. It grabbed a top five spot everywhere from Bahrain to Bolivia to Belgium. Not bad for a film that’s now essentially a teenager, and didn’t get any new marketing push. Hollywood accountants must be weeping into their spreadsheets.

The Bullock–McCarthy Effect

For those who need a refresher: The Heat was Paul Feig’s post-Bridesmaids, pre-Spy vehicle — a classic odd-couple cop comedy headlined by Sandra Bullock (deadpan FBI hardcase Sarah Ashburn) and Melissa McCarthy (massively sweary Boston detective Shannon Mullins). Written by Katie Dippold, the script leaned hard on all the buddy-cop clichés: grudging team-ups, bickering, growing respect, and at least a couple of chase scenes. Think Bad Boys, but with the fun dialled more towards the leads’ chemistry than the plot, which is a bit 'paint-by-numbers' if we’re honest. Still, that’s what makes these things work — and Bullock and McCarthy together did more than enough heavy lifting.

Critically, reactions were a bit all over the place. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus hovers at 66%, which sums up the reviews at the time — decent, but no one was rushing to crown it a classic. Audience scores—Popcornmeter has it at 71%—are a bit friendlier. Clearly, viewers liked it, box office included: the film pulled in $229.9 million worldwide on a budget reported at $43 million. Not exactly a flop, then. You’d think a sequel was inevitable.

The Sequel That Wasn't

Scriptwriter Dippold actually penned a follow-up, aiming to keep the odd-couple saga going. But Fox got cold feet, and the whole thing got lost in the weeds after that — usual script limbo stuff, with a side order of Sandra Bullock openly swearing off sequels, which probably didn't help matters. These days, with Bad Boys still raking it in at the box office, there’s plenty of cash left in bickering-cop antics. But The Heat remains rare proof that this formula can work just as well with two women leading the charge.

• The Heat (2013), starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, was directed by Paul Feig and written by Katie Dippold.
• It’s currently hitting higher on Netflix than most originals: No. 2 globally, top 5 in at least a dozen countries, No. 1 in Australia for five days straight.
• The film grossed almost $230 million worldwide off a relatively small $43 million budget, but plans for a sequel fizzled due to studio inertia and Bullock’s aversion to sequels.
• Despite mixed critical reviews, audience ratings were warmer, and it’s one of the only recent buddy cop hits with women in the lead roles.