Battleship hits – Prime Video has boosted attention for Battleship, now sitting at #6 on U.S. charts, even after the film lost Universal $150 million and drew harsh reviews at release.
For a film that once crashed at the box office, Battleship is finding a second life—this time on Prime Video.
Prime Video recently brought back Jack Ryan: Ghost War. with John Kraskinski reprising the titular role as Prime’s super spy. The series has been packed with enough action and bloodshed to keep climbing through the past week’s streaming charts. Those same charts are now also showing another military-leaning title with a science fiction twist: Battleship.
The film—directed by Peter Berg and featuring an ensemble cast that includes Taylor Kitsch. Alexander Skarsgård. Liam Neeson. and Rihanna in her acting debut—currently sits at #6 on Prime Video’s U.S. charts. The turnaround is striking when you look back at its theatrical run. Battleship ended up losing Universal $150 million. and critics tore into it. adding up to one of the worst box office bombs of all time.
What’s drawing viewers in now isn’t a gentler retelling of the original pitch. The shift from the source material is part of the movie’s identity—and it’s also at the center of why it landed so poorly in its first life.
In the board game, Battleship is built around two opposing naval forces going head-to-head. In the movie. Berg and screenwriters Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber instead put Alex Hopper. played by Kitsch. and a crew of naval officers against alien invaders. The aliens come with bombs that resemble the pegs used in Battleship gameplay. There’s also a tense sequence where Alex’s crew uses radar to target the invaders’ ships.
Still, Berg has been open about how far his film moved away from the game itself. Speaking at a WonderCon panel, he explained, “Battleship’s a unique experience. It certainly doesn’t have any direct correlation to the game. That being said, it was a lot of fun to try to find way to reference the game. If you look at the ordinance that the enemies use, it looks a bit like pegs. Both of our ships’ radar systems have trouble seeing each other. so they gotta try and predict where the enemy is so that they can go after them. And there were some other things that were kind of fun.”.
That mismatch didn’t stop Berg from building in real military credibility. Actual veterans and naval officers appear in the cast. including a group of veterans who help Alex’s crew operate an actual battleship in the climax. Another subplot features Lieutenant Colonel Mick Canales, a double amputee played by Gregory Gadson. Gadson is actually a Navy Colonel and double amputee, and the film marked his first acting role. The movie’s production also leans into a standout performance from Gadson. described as one that makes you “wish he was the hero of the movie. ” even as it wasn’t enough to keep Battleship from a critical thrashing.
Reviews at the time unfavorably compared the film to Michael Bay’s Transformers movies.
Even with that legacy, it’s clear audiences on streaming are latching onto the film’s particular brand of chaos. Battleship still looks like an odd beast on paper: a familiar military scenario forced into an alien-invasion structure. with just enough real-world naval authenticity to keep the action grounded—while still delivering plenty of sci-fi weirdness.
Between Peter Berg’s ongoing run at military franchises and Taylor Kitsch’s continued presence in similar genre swings. Prime Video’s timing feels almost too perfect: the service is already leaning into spy thrills with Jack Ryan: Ghost War. and now it’s handing viewers a weekend alternative that’s built to be watched with friends—whether people are coming for the bonkers premises or for the action alone.
Berg’s next military-focused project is already in motion as well. He’s set to direct, co-write and produce a Call of Duty movie at Paramount alongside Taylor Sheridan. Berg has also faced backlash tied to an interview in which he called video game players “weak. ” a remark that lands awkwardly when adapting a video game series based on military conflicts.
Kitsch, meanwhile, is riding stronger momentum. He turned in a better performance in Berg’s follow-up Lone Survivor, and he also anchors one of Prime Video’s biggest franchises with The Terminal List and its spin-off series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf.
Battleship, for all its box-office damage and critical scolding, is still finding enough people willing to give it a fresh look. For now, it’s on the charts—#6 in the U.S.—and for a film that nearly ended an actor’s career, that kind of comeback is its own kind of plot twist.
Battleship Prime Video Jack Ryan: Ghost War Peter Berg Taylor Kitsch Alexander Skarsgård Liam Neeson Rihanna acting debut streaming charts
Prime really is just re-selling the same stuff until it sticks.
How did Battleship end up #6 when it supposedly flopped like, hard? Makes me think the streaming numbers are inflated or something.
Wait so the board game has aliens now? I’m kinda lost like I thought it was just ships shooting at each other. If it’s doing better on Prime maybe it’s because people like John Krasinski more and just stumble into it?
Liam Neeson + Taylor Kitsch + Rihanna doing an acting debut… I mean I can see why people would click, even if critics hated it. But also $150 million loss?? That’s insane. Prime must be paying for promotion because there’s no way it climbed that fast on accident. Also the aliens with the peg bombs sounds like some kids game gone wrong lol