An Overlooked Historical Epic War Movie Just Jumped To The Top Of HBO Max’s Streaming Chart

History is making for belated streaming success as an epic 2011 drama set in ancient Roman Britain lands at the top of HBO Max’s global charts.

The Eagle stars a sword-and-sandals-clad Channing Tatum as centurion Marcus Aquila in a sweeping tale set in the year 140 AD. Unfortunately, the film was largely overlooked by audiences upon its release, and did not receive critical acclaim.

Fifteen years on from putting Magic Mike’s Tatum in the costume of a Roman warrior, The Eagle is suddenly soaring atop HBO Max’s streaming charts in multiple international markets for March 28, 2026, ushering it to an average rating of 1.6 worldwide.

South American countries lead the way in raising the unheralded historical epic to new streaming heights, with the movie coming in at #1 in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. It’s #2 in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

The Eagle has also flown all the way to #1 on the charts in the Central American countries of Mexico and Panama, and to #2 in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Caribbean nations are also well-represented, with the Dominican Republic sending the film to #1, and the Bahamas and Haiti sending it to #2.

All this new enthusiasm for The Eagle among streaming subscribers might surprise critics from 2011, whose disapproving response to the film sent it to a low Rotten Tomatoes score of just 39%. Negative reviews bashed Tatum’s lead performance and the direction of Kevin Macdonald. A handful of positive reviews praised the historical epic‘s battle scenes.

ScreenRant’s own review of The Eagle aligned with the other lukewarm critical assessments received by the film, saying of the film that it is “quite simply one of the more tepid swords & sandals adventures to grace the silver screen in modern times.” It goes on, “Ultimately the movie falls flat because it lacks the substance to satisfy as an arthouse drama, and is far too muddled in structure and pacing to offer those in the mood for some mindless violence much bang for their buck.”

The Eagle’s Tatum-plus-ancient-Rome formula was not very successful at the box office either, as the film grossed just $39 million on a budget of $25 million. The period epic may not have worked for critics or audiences, but it did fairly well with historians, with one expert giving the film a 9-out-of-10 for its battle scene accuracy in a 2024 assessment.

The expert praised the film for its realistic depiction of Roman formations and chariot counter-measures, giving history-minded movie viewers at least one good reason to check out The Eagle.