Short on time? HBO Max’s 91-minute 'John Wick' substitute action thriller is smashing it

Right, so HBO Max has bagged itself an unexpected streaming smash in the form of Normal—an action thriller that whisks the bloody-minded excitement of John Wick off to, of all places, small-town Minnesota. And if that rings a bell, it should: Derek Kolstad, the very chap who launched Keanu into John Wick stardom back in 2014, is behind this one as well. Consider it a spiritual sibling—or, bluntly, a John Wick substitute—only the dogs here are more likely to be Labradors wearing festive jumpers.

Not So Normal After All

Headlining the whole affair is Bob Odenkirk, who seems to be making a habit of tough-guy roles in late middle age. He plays Sheriff Ulysses Richardson, a lawman hoping for some peace after a marital wobble by taking a cushy temporary gig: eight weeks as acting sheriff in an allegedly sleepy town called Normal, Minnesota. Of course, Normal turns out to be anything but. The last sheriff has suddenly popped his clogs, and Odenkirk’s Ulysses soon finds the town is hiding much more than frostbite and bad casseroles.

If you caught Odenkirk in Nobody and its less-successful sequel, you’ll know he’s on familiar ground here: a bloke who just wants a quiet life, but ends up making impressive use of whatever’s to hand when criminals come knocking. Normal cranks the formula up a notch—a cross between John Wick’s balletic carnage and Fargo’s darkly comic shambles, even if, let’s be honest, nothing ever quite tops the Coen brothers at their prime. The film isn’t shy about going full Western siege either, as one botched bank heist triggers bloody mayhem and turns the entire town against its new sheriff.

Also along for the ride are Henry Winkler and Lena Headey, who form an unlikely alliance with Odenkirk’s sheriff as things go more than a bit pear-shaped. The whole thing swirls from Midwestern mystery into total gun-blazing chaos.

Box Office Woes and Streaming Glory

Now, here’s where it gets a bit weird. Despite all that pedigree, Normal was a bit of a damp squib at the cinema. On a reported budget of $17 million, its theatrical run barely coughed up $6 million. For comparison, Odenkirk’s Nobody films—especially the first—had way more muscle at the box office, though to be fair, Universal gave them a bigger release than the indie distributor Magnolia Pictures managed for Normal.

Normal took in just $6 million at the box office despite a production budget of $17 million.

The signs had already been there: Nobody 2 (which came out a year earlier) had itself underperformed despite costing more to make. It’s looking like audiences might be tiring of Odenkirk gunning his way through increasingly daft villains—at least when they’ve got to pay for a ticket.

But plot twist—the film is having the last laugh on streaming. Since landing on HBO Max on 14 August 2026, Normal has shot straight to the top of the platform’s most-watched list in the US. Not only has it muscled past other fresh releases like The Drama and Mortal Kombat II, it's even overtaken old favourites like Practical Magic and action juggernauts like Sicario. It turns out Odenkirk is still good for a brawl, so long as everyone can enjoy it from the comfort of their own sofa.

Will There Be More?

No official word yet on a sequel, but for anyone holding out for Normal 2, both Kolstad and Odenkirk have said they’re keen—Kolstad apparently has material for 'at least four more movies' sketched out. So if Ulysses Richardson ends up dodging another hail of bullets (or snowballs), don’t act surprised.