After making just $10 million domestically in theaters, Zazie Beetz’s 2026 thriller They Will Kill You has found a new audience on HBO Max, where it’s currently the number three most-watched film in the US.
Zazie Beetz already had a reputation for breaking through genre after genre—playing a badass mutant in Deadpool 2, starring as the object of Arthur Fleck’s affection in Joker, and earning an Emmy nomination for her role on Atlanta. Then her first major lead role arrived: They Will Kill You in 2026.
In theaters, it didn’t catch fire. The film made just $10 million domestically. But the story didn’t end there.
Now, They Will Kill You has a second life on HBO Max, where it’s currently the number three most-watched film in the US. For anyone who skipped the theatrical run, that new performance is an invitation to catch up on the bloody action-comedy ride that—at least at first—struggled to land.
The film’s early momentum was complicated by comparisons. Initial (and not-quite-accurate) comparisons to Ready or Not followed it into theaters. with a trailer that framed Beetz’s character arriving at an old. mansion-like building and fighting her way through residents who turn out to be an evil. wealthy cult planning to sacrifice her to Satan.
That pitch made it sound too close to Radio Silence’s 2019 hit Ready or Not—especially with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come released to theaters in the same month. But They Will Kill You doesn’t actually move like those movies. While the Ready or Not sequels play as revenge films. They Will Kill You turns into a gory action thriller packed with nonstop chaos and extreme violence. sprinting toward one frenzied scene after another.
At the center is Asia (Beetz) and Maria (Myha’la), two sisters on the run from their abusive father. Their escape goes wrong, and Asia is sent to prison. When she’s released a decade later, she starts searching for the sibling she left behind. The search leads her to The Virgil, a mammoth, multi-level New York City hotel—not the mansion from the trailer. To gain entrance, Asia poses as a maid. From there, everything collapses quickly, driven by a deadly Satan-worshiping cult led by Lily Woodhouse’s Patricia Arqutte.
One reason the movie stands out is how it borrows energy without copying the blueprint. The choreographed fights feel kinetic and deliberate, evoking the Kill Bill films. The action includes Asia going toe-to-toe with Heather Graham and Tom Felton. while the visuals stay sharp and the score is handled by Carlos Rafael Rivera.
Beetz also tied the fighting style to the character’s personality—messy. scrappy. learned in motion rather than perfected through training. Speaking with Collider. she described how preparation for the violence-focused choreography aimed for “intentionally a little bit messy. ” saying precision was less of a defining trait for her character than a “street. scrappy approach. ” shaped by a mix of “kung fu. samurai influence” and “the sword influence.”.
Asia’s motivation is simple and relentless: she’s doing this for her sister. Like Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill, Asia is beaten down by life yet refuses to quit. The film keeps that emotional spine clear while it escalates into something wilder than the initial setup suggests.
While the premise may recall Ready or Not and the style may echo Kill Bill. They Will Kill You earns its own lane as it moves into supernatural territory. The bad guys aren’t easy to take down. and the film includes a sequence featuring a disembodied eye walking on its own. The final act—when Asia faces the Devil himself in an unforgettable form—is framed as the payoff. worth your 90 minutes.
For now, the numbers tell a second story than the first one did. March 27. 2026 is the release date. the runtime is 94 minutes. the director is Kirill Sokolov. and the writers are Kirill Sokolov and Alex Litvak. In theaters, it was a $10 million domestic stumble. On HBO Max, it’s finding viewers fast—proof that some thrill rides don’t disappear with the credits. They just wait for the right audience to show up.
They Will Kill You HBO Max Zazie Beetz Kirill Sokolov Alex Litvak Ready or Not Kill Bill Patricia Arqutte Lily Woodhouse Asia Tom Felton Heather Graham Carlos Rafael Rivera March 27 2026
Number three on HBO Max already?? That means everybody watched it like right away, no matter how bad it was in theaters lol.
I feel like HBO Max just shoves stuff to the top if enough people click the trailer. They said it made $10 million in theaters so I’m skeptical it’s “good,” but I also haven’t even seen it.
Wait so this is like Ready or Not but with Joker vibes? Because Zazie Beetz was in Joker and Deadpool so I thought it’d be some kind of supervillain murder thing. Also “sacrifice to Satan” sounds fake like every horror movie is the same story now.
Beetz can do no wrong to me, but $10 million domestically is wild. That’s usually like, a flop, so I guess HBO Max saves it again. Also the article says it didn’t “move” like Ready or Not—cool, but the trailer comparison is all I needed to know, mansion evil cult sacrificing people, yeah sounds like the same movie in different clothes.