As expected, Guillermo del Toro‘s highly anticipated Frankenstein adaptation became an instant sensation upon its debut on Netflix. The gothic horror movie arrives only a few weeks after another prestige play by Netflix: Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, which slipped to the number two spot following Frankenstein’s debut. This isn’t the first time that del Toro has collaborated with the streamer; he previously directed an acclaimed stop-motion Pinocchio movie for Netflix, and produced an anthology of horror shorts helmed by different directors. Frankenstein, however, is a major move for the Oscar-winner; it’s among his most expensive projects ever, behind only Pacific Rim.
According to FlixPatrol, Frankenstein became the number one movie on Netflix immediately after its release, both domestically and worldwide. The movie pushed A House of Dynamite to the number two spot, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back to the number three spot. Starring Oscar Isaac as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as his creation, the movie cost a reported $120 million to produce. It’s del Toro’s second-most-expensive project, behind the $200 million kaiju movie Pacific Rim. The Mexican filmmaker has always shown an affinity for the grotesque, and his singular vision led him to Best Picture and Best Director Oscar wins for The Shape of Water, which is nearly a decade old at this point.
Frankenstein premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and opened in limited theatrical release domestically at the end of October. It received mostly positive reviews, with praise in particular going towards Elordi’s performance. Frankenstein is currently sitting at a “certified fresh” 85% score and a “verified hot” 95% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Finding the humanity in one of cinema’s most iconic monsters, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish epic that gets its most invigorating volts from Jacob Elordi’s standout performance.”
‘Frankenstein’ Received Praise for Its Visuals and for Jacob Elordi’s Performance
In his review, Collider’s Ross Bonaime concurred with the Elordi praise, and wrote that the movie “looks absolutely gorgeous, with massive sets that you want to explore, sprawling landscapes, and incredible costume and makeup work.” The movie debuted at home the same time as fellow genre offering, Predator: Badlands, debuted in theaters. Also starring Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, and others, Frankenstein is available on Netflix.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
October 17, 2025
Runtime
149 Minutes
