Meg 2: The Trench devours Netflix, now among the streamer’s biggest movie hits
Turns out, you can teach an old action hero new tricks—at least if you give him a giant killer shark to punch.
Jason Statham is back in the deep end for Meg 2: The Trench, a film which isn't shy about making things as ridiculously over-the-top as possible. It's an action blockbuster with an added dollop of sci-fi, and, surprisingly or not, it's become one of the biggest streaming hits on Netflix right now.
Sharks, Squids, and Statham’s Fists
Instead of the usual gruff encounters with gangsters or dodgy lawmen, this time The Stath (as the tabloids love to call him) is taking on prehistoric sea monsters. Yes, giant ones. In this sequel—helmed by Ben Wheatley—Statham teams up with action star Wu Jing, as well as Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, and Cliff Curtis. The premise? A monstrous megalodon is somehow not the only thing lurking in the trench, and pretty soon Statham’s got his hands (and even a mech suit) full with kaiju-grade squids and scaly beasties thrown in for good measure.
If you reckon that sounds like a glorious throwback to B-movie nonsense, you’d be right. And audiences are clearly here for it: over at the box office, Meg 2 racked up a hefty $397.8 million globally off a $129 million budget—less than the first, but not shabby at all. Critically, it's the same story as before; the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score is grim, but audiences didn’t care in the slightest—hitting a healthy 72% in the “popcorn” monumental enjoyment category.
Monster Hit on Netflix
On Netflix, Meg 2: The Trench has been tearing up the charts. In its first week on the service (13 to 19 July 2026), it shot straight to number 5 on the global top 10 movies. That's 3.6 million views and 7 million hours watched—no small feat, sandwiched between all the other new releases and a bunch of inexplicably popular animated fare. It’s not the kind of film you watch while scrolling your phone.
- Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea – 11.1 million views
- Voicemails for Isabelle – 5.7 million views
- Enola Holmes 3 – 4.7 million views
- Regretting You – 3.9 million views
- Meg 2: The Trench – 3.6 million views
- KPop Demon Hunters – 3.4 million views
- Death on the Nile – 3.4 million views
- The Boss Baby 2 – 3.3 million views
- Joy Ride – 3.3 million views
- Sniper: No Nation – 3.2 million views
The new series began on 5 December and already runs to 19 episodes.
Sequel? Maybe. Statham’s Next Adventure? Definitely
As for Meg 3? Despite the juicy setup (there are six main “Meg” novels by Steve Alten, if you fancy reading about more mutant sharks), there’s no official word on another sequel yet. Director Ben Wheatley’s keen, but nothing signed and sealed. In the meantime, Jason Statham isn’t taking a holiday—he’s jumping straight back on the water in Mutiny, another action thriller set to launch 21 August 2026. Apparently, when your comfort zone is the middle of the ocean with an angry sea monster, anything else must seem like a day at the beach.