Credit: Gage Skidmore

Netflix loves to reclaim spotlights for movies that have been lost from the collective conscience over time. So, for those wondering what’s the blast from the past that’s busy giving modern cinema a run for its money, it’s the 2016 sci-fi romance, Passengers, starring Jennifer Lawrence.

During the week of June 1st to June 7th, Passengers experienced a sudden resurgence, ranking sixth on the most popular movies chart in the US, right behind The Crash and Bee Movie.

While the rise may come as a surprise, Passengers’ resurgence actually boils down to a few classic streaming dynamics. Since Netflix frequently acquires streaming rights to a massive catalogue of older studio films, mostly at the start of every month, June was no exception. In fact, the sci-fi romance hit Netflix shelves on June 1st, making itself right at home within a week.

Consequently, when a high-profile movie with recognisable A-listers is added to the streamer’s “New Releases” or “Recently Added” shelf, it almost always receives an instant spike in viewership as millions of subscribers log in and browse the homepage. And clearly, things worked out pretty well for Passengers.

That said, when the film originally hit theatres a decade ago, it received a lukewarm response from critics, as evidenced by Passengers’ 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Back in the day, critics primarily took issue with the sci-fi movie’s controversial moral dilemma. Yet, movies with this specific recipe actually tend to thrive on streaming years later, thanks to their star power and high-concept premise.

Another factor that may have contributed to the movie’s streaming boost is low commitment. Audiences are usually much more willing to give a flawed-but-entertaining movie a chance when it is included in their existing subscription instead of buying a theatre ticket. So, in case you’re scratching your head about the polarised response, the cinematic demography, whether it’s on streaming or in theatres, plays a big role.

But is that all? Perhaps not! The biggest factor in any streaming resurgence is the algorithm snowball effect.

Following Passengers’ arrival on Netflix, the initial wave of subscribers clicked on it. Then the streaming algorithm took over, pushing it into the top 10 movies and ultimately creating a feedback loop. As more users saw it trending on the charts, the curiosity kicked in, boosting the numbers even higher.

Although the behind-the-scenes reasons are now clearer than ever, to find out what’s in Passengers that’s drawing viewers in horde, don’t forget to tune into the Lawrence starrer while it’s still available on Netflix.