Matt Damon’s Forgotten Sci-Fi Failure Is a Sleeper Streaming Hit

With 2025 just weeks away, thoughts naturally turn to the 2026 box office line-up. Among the sequels, reboots and reimaginings sure to top the charts is the latest film from Christopher Nolanand his most ambitious epic yet, The Odyssey. Also featuring the likes of Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Jon BernthalAnd John Leguizamothe film will see frequent Nolan collaborator, Matt Damonplays the lead role in one of the Oscar-winning director’s projects for the first time.

Ahead of The Odyssey’Arriving in July 2026, one of Damon’s most forgotten starring roles is a surprise streaming hit in the US. At the time of writing, the sci-fi comedy-drama Downsizingled by The leftovers director Alexander PayneEast one of the ten most streamed films on Paramount+. Despite a star-studded ensemble that included Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiigand a Golden Globe-nominated turn for Hong Chau, Downsizing failed to earn praise from critics and audiences, scoring just 47% from the former and a terrible 25% from the latter on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus on the site reads: “Downsizing brings together a talented cast looking for some really interesting ideas – which may be enough for some audiences to forgive the final product’s frustrating flaws. A synopsis of the film reads:

“Mild-mannered therapist Paul Safranek and his wife, Audrey, decide to undergo a process by which scientists shrink people to miniature size to live in small communities. The irreversible procedure allows people to become wealthy and lead lives of leisure while helping to reduce consumption of natural resources. As Paul gets to know his new neighbors and his surroundings, he quickly learns that living in a small suburb comes with its share of enormous problems.”

How did “Downsizing” perform at the box office?

A frustrating response from critics and audiences to Downsizing was made worse when it also failed at the 2017 box office. Made for a reported $68 million, the film failed to even recoup its budget, ending on a low a global transport of 54 million dollars. Split between $24 million in domestic revenue and another $30 million from foreign markets, the film didn’t even make the list of the 100 highest-grossing films of 2017, a simply shocking failure for a film with this star-studded cast.

Downsizing is now streaming on Paramount+. Be sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.