Netflix Is Losing Margot Robbie’s Gritty R-Rated Crime Thriller — Stream It Before It’s Gone
Catch it before it vanishes: Margot Robbie’s slick, R-rated con-game romance Focus leaves Netflix in May, following a veteran grifter whose new protégé turns his plans—and heart—upside down.
If you were planning to cue up 'Focus' for your next Will Smith/Margot Robbie movie night, start the popcorn soon—because Netflix is about to send this slick con-artist rom-com packing.
The Exit Date
'Focus,' that glossy 2015 R-rated crime caper with Margot Robbie and Will Smith, is getting booted from Netflix on Friday, May 1, 2026. Yeah, you read that right—plenty of advance notice, but put it on your watchlist now or risk doing the walk of shame back to physical media. Or, you know, rent it somewhere else.
The Gist
The plot is classic con artist cat-and-mouse stuff with some messy romance thrown in. See: Nicky (Smith), a veteran hustler, goes head-to-head with Jess (Robbie), a wannabe scammer who tries and fails to pull one over on him. Instead of calling the cops, Nicky takes her under his wing. Naturally, his professional 'no feelings' policy doesn’t stick. Between elaborate pickpocket montages and high-stakes shenanigans (including fleecing a rich gambler out of a fortune), they fall for each other—against better judgment, of course. Just when you think you're watching a breezy rom-com about bad people, the movie skips ahead: Nicky and Jess part ways after a massive job, and then surprise, they cross paths years later in the high-stakes world of motorsports sabotage. (Yes, really.)
How the Cast (Almost) Shook Out
The choice of Will Smith and Margot Robbie as the leads wasn’t always set in stone. The studios apparently flirted with the idea of casting Ben Affleck or Brad Pitt as Nicky. As for Jess, Kristen Stewart was lined up to play opposite Smith—but she bailed when Smith signed on, mostly thanks to concerns about the age difference with her potential co-star (something Variety reported back in the day).
Who’s Behind the Camera?
Directing duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa handled both script and camera duties on this one—no strangers to offbeat dramedy. 'Focus' was actually their third time working together after 'I Love You Phillip Morris' (which, if you haven't seen, is absolutely wild) and the mega-successful 'Crazy, Stupid, Love.'
The Cast List
- Will Smith as Nicky (the smooth-talking pro)
- Margot Robbie as Jess (the ambitious rookie)
- Rodrigo Santoro as Rafael (the suave rival)
- Gerald McRaney as Bucky (the crusty veteran)
- Adrian Martinez as Farhad (comedy relief/pickpocket extraordinaire)
- B.D. Wong as Liyuan Tse (key mark)
- And a handful of familiar faces rounding out the cons and marks
Box Office and Reception—AKA, Did Anyone Actually Watch This?
If you go by the numbers: Warner Bros. put 'Focus' in theaters back in February 2015. It scored a worldwide haul of $159 million against a $50 million budget. Quick math: that's what most folks would call a hit, even if not a mega-blockbuster. Critics, though, were kind of 'meh': Rotten Tomatoes puts it at a 55% (barely above water) and audiences weren’t much more forgiving—scoring it a 53%. This is one of those movies that is just entertaining enough, but nobody’s picking it as their all-time favorite.
Final Thoughts
In short, 'Focus' is a fun, pretty-looking grifter flick with two extremely watchable stars, a few genuinely clever twists, and a backstory that's almost as tangled as its plot. Stream it now if you want to catch Smith and Robbie before they vanish into the Netflix vault. After May 2026, you’ll have to hunt it down elsewhere.