The Most-Watched Netflix Horror Movie Of All Time Now Has a Secret Sequel
Bird Box is Netflix’s most-watched horror movie of all time. And that’s a massive achievement. With an estimated 157 million unique viewers, the power of the film’s unseen monsters has only ever been defeated by the non-horror titles The Adam Project, Don’t Look Up, and Red Notice.
A genre sensation when first released in 2014, Bird Box, adapted from Josh Malerman’s novel of the same name, was one of Netflix’s first big filmic wins. While the path forward has been unsteady, Bird Box conceptualized the power of beaming horror movies across the world via streaming all at once could yield. You didn’t need the theater to see Sandra Bullock desperately trying to protect her children from invisible monsters—you just needed an $8.99 subscription fee (half of what it currently is).
While Bird Box endures, what you might not know is that the film had a secret 2023 sequel.
Open the lid on Bird Box Barcelona here:
Per Netflix: An unseen entity. A global annihilation. An ominous new threat. In this twist on the Bird Box phenomenon, survival is harder than ever.
Álex and David Pastor’s spinoff, released in 2023, stars Mario Casas, Naila Schuberth, Georgina Campbell, and Diego Calva. Unlike the original, the sequel isn’t based on any preexisting source material, though the set-up is all but the same.
In the movie, Mario Casas’ Sebastián and his daughter endure dueling philosophies, unseen threats, and dastardly humans as they endeavor to survive the same global plague Sandra Bullock and her ilk did almost a decade before.
Check out the trailer for Bird Box Barcelona via Netflix:
Like the first film, Bird Box Barcelona was met with mixed reviews. While titles like A Quiet Place (and now its franchise) and The Silence would similarly flirt with the idea of sensory-based monsters, Bird Box was among the first.
Broadly, the critical reception concluded Bird Box Barcelona packed some of its own unique twists, but otherwise failed to capture the simple tension of the first. You can’t blame a multi-billion dollar corporation for trying.
Mileage may vary, of course, though there’s just as solid a chance you didn’t even know Bird Box had a sequel. In 2014, something like Bird Box was an event. In the years since, as Netflix churns out more and more ostensible content, something to attract eyeballs for a weekend before the next thing comes along, a movie like Bird Box Barcelona has little chance of enduring. Ironic, really, since the streaming model how now all but blinded audiences to whatever the next big thing is supposed to be.
Whether Bird Box Barcelona, like so many of the best horror sequels, eventually finds its audience remains to be seen. Puns aside, you can catch it streaming now on Netflix. If you get a chance to check it out, be certain to let me know what you think over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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