The Margot Robbie Flop Getting A Second Life On Netflix

Before three-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie hit the big time playing characters like Olympic skater Tonya Harding in "I, Tonya," DC villain Harley Quinn in the "Suicide Squad" films, and the titular Mattel doll-turned-human in "Barbie," she flew in somewhat under the radar for her turn as famous literary character. The Australian performer starred as Jane opposite Alexander Skarsgård's Tarzan in the jungle adventure "The Legend of Tarzan," which stalled at the box office in 2016. While the film grossed nearly $349 million at the worldwide box office upon its theatrical release, its massive production budget of $180 million before its marketing spend prevented it from becoming a bona fide hit.

Thanks no doubt to Robbie's meteoric rise in superstardom since the release of "The Legend of Tarzan," fans seem to be finally discovering the actor's 2016 jungle adventure on Netflix. According to Netflix's Global Top 10 Movies chart from January 15 to January 21, 2024, "The Legend of Tarzan" came in as No. 2, accruing 14.4 million hours viewed among 7.9 million viewers.

"The Legend of Tarzan" placed second to the Netflix original movie "Lift." Starring Kevin Hart, the action crime comedy pulled in a mammoth 65.4 million viewing hours among 36.7 million viewers. Since "The Legend of Tarzan" made its debut in Netflix's Top 10 in its first week on the streaming service, it's entirely within reason to think the title will continue to rise in popularity. Given the enormous attention "Barbie's" Greta Gerwig and Robbie's Oscar snubs for best director and best actress got, such publicity can only raise their respective profiles.

Perhaps another reason it's baffling that "The Legend of Tarzan" missed the mark at the box office stems from the pedigree of the film's director, David Yates. Before "The Legend of Tarzan," Yates directed the last four films in the "Harry Potter" big-screen saga, which concluded in 2010 and 2011 with the two-part "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" movies. While his 2016 action-adventure movie didn't bring in the audiences the filmmaker hoped for, he considered himself lucky to work with Robbie just before her career shot into the stratosphere. On top of that, the director loves the choices the "Barbie" star has made on her way to the top.

"Margot was always amazingly thoughtful, bright, and insightful, and it doesn't surprise me," Yates told Looper in an exclusive interview. "What is particularly marvelous about what Margot's doing is she's empowering and finding stories [that] she supports, and she gets made, which need to be heard. When you get to a certain point as a star, you have a lot of influence, and you have a lot of power."

The way Robbie is using her clout is especially important, Yates added because now she has the wherewithal to get movies made that might not see the light of day otherwise. "She's always had that amazing star power, and she was always completely watchable on screen," Yates told Looper. "I admire the fact that she's leveraging that success now to make other stories happen with other filmmakers and other directors. It's wonderful."