Gal Gadot's Netflix Success Is Promising For Sequel To $200 Million Action Movie

Summary Heart of Stone was the second most-watched movie on Netflix in 2023, proving Gal Gadot's star power.

With 109.6 million views, the film outperformed critical reception, setting the stage for a potential sequel.

The success of Heart of Stone paves the way for Red Notice 2, confirming Gadot's strong partnership with Netflix.

Gal Gadot's success with her spy action thriller Heart of Stone is a great sign for a potential sequel of another Netflix title. According to Netflix's "What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report", Heart of Stone was the second-most watched movie on the giant streaming platform between July to December 2023. Heart of Stone follows an intelligence operative named Rachel Stone who must stop a hacker from stealing valuable information for a shadowy global diplomatic agency. Following its release date on August 11, 2024, Heart of Stone earned an uninspired score of 30% on Rotten Tomatoes but was still extremely popular.

Heart of Stone's cast is led by Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Jing Lusi, and Paul Reedy. The film generated 109.6 million views and 228.4 million hours watched during the period of July and December 2023, finishing second only to the apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind which achieved a staggering 121 million views and amassed more than 286 million hours watched. This data, which is made available directly from Netflix, proves that Leave the World Behind and Heart of Stone are the only two movies on Netflix that accrued more than 200 million hours viewed.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Gal Gadot's Heart Of Stone Was One Of Netflix's Biggest 2023 Movies

Heart of Stone generated nearly 110 million views

Gal Gadot in Heart of Stone

With Heart of Stone being the second-biggest movie on Netflix in the second half of 2023, Gal Gadot is in a great position with Netflix and her other franchise with the streaming platform, Red Notice. Heart of Stone was virtually unaffected by its poor critical reception, once again proving the undeniable star power of Gadot. In addition to Leave the World Behind and Heart of Stone, Leo (96 million views, 171.2 million hours viewed), Nowhere (86.2 million views, 156.6 million hours viewed), and The Out-Laws (83.8 million views, 135.5 million hours viewed) rounded out the top 5 most viewed movies during that time period.

While a sequel to Heart of Stone has not been officially announced by Netflix, it would be shocking if the streaming giant didn't capitalize on its popularity and success by expanding the franchise. Gadot notably earned more than $20 million for her performance in Red Notice alongside Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, indicating that Netflix should be willing to dish out a comparable payday for a potential Heart of Stone sequel. Gadot was reportedly paid $5 million for her role in Heart of Stone, but a sequel should cost Netflix more than that figure.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Heart Of Stone's Success Makes Red Notice 2 Even More Likely

Gadot proves she is a massive winner for Netflix

Due to the undeniable success of Heart of Stone, Red Notice 2 appears to be more promising than ever before. If nothing else, the high performance of Heart of Stone shows that these types of movies with Gadot as its star are an enormous draw on the platform and should be reinvested in continuously, despite bad reviews. Red Notice itself was a massive hit for Netflix as well and is still Netflix's biggest original movie ever after earning 239.4 million views. This data indicates that Gadot could find a long-term partnership with Netflix in these two franchises.

Heart of Stone followed Gadot's appearances in 2023's Fast X, reprising her franchise role as Gisele, and an uncredited appearance as Wonder Woman in 2023's The Flash. Gadot has proven time and time again that she is one of the biggest draws to massive franchise films with enormous scale following the acclaim of 2017's Wonder Woman. She is set to appear as the Evil Queen in 2025's live-action adaptation of Snow White in a rare antagonist role. In addition to returning as The Bishop in Red Notice 2, she will also star in Hand of Dante alongside an incredible ensemble cast that includes Al Pacino, Oscar Issac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, and John Malkovich.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Why Is Red Notice 2 Taking So Long?

Production delays and potential feuds play a part

Close

Filming on Red Notice 2 has not officially started as of May 2024, but the film is currently considered to be in production. The inevitable delays that virtually all Hollywood productions faced in 2023 as a result of the SGA and WGA strikes delayed filming. There's also the matter of the alleged feud between Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds that could have had an effect on the franchise's development. Netflix is still planning to produce and release two Red Notice sequels, which will likely turn out another massive payday for Gadot, especially considering her Heart of Stone success.