12 Years Later, Ewan McGregor's Forgotten Fantasy Movie Is Slaying the Streaming Competition

12 Years Later, Ewan McGregor's Forgotten Fantasy Movie Is Slaying the Streaming Competition Ewan McGregor in 'Jack the Giant Slayer'Image via New Line Cinema By  Jake Hodges Published 38 minutes ago In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.  Sign in to your Collider account follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

This summer, two of the hottest hits at the box office were James Gunn's Superman and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise's supposed final outing as the action hero Ethan Hunt. Two films that earned positive feedback from both audiences and critics, as well as performing well at the box office (even if the latter was doomed never to succeed against its eye-watering budget), Superman and The Final Reckoning made their mark on 2025 thanks in no small part to the former's star, Nicholas Hoult, and the latter's director, Christopher McQuarrie.

Several months after this summer's box office slate, Hoult and McQuarrie's somewhat forgotten fantasy team-up is an unlikely free streaming hit in the U.S. At the time of writing, Jack the Giant Slayer, which starred Hoult and featured McQuarrie on the writing team, is one of the ten most-streamed movies on Tubi. A fantasy adventure that boasted a star-studded cast, Jack the Giant Slayer sadly failed to make enough of a box office impression to return on its enormous $195 million budget, finishing its theatrical run just shy of the $200 million mark worldwide. A synopsis of the movie reads:

"When young farmhand Jack (Nicholas Hoult) unwittingly opens a portal between his realm and a race of giants, it rekindles an ancient war. Roaming Earth for the first time in centuries, the fearsome giants seek to reclaim the land they lost long ago. Jack has to face an army of foes that he thought existed only in legend, but through his arduous fight for the kingdom and its people, he may win the love of a brave princess, perhaps becoming a legend himself."

'Jack the Giant Slayer' Earned Mixed Reviews

The poor performance of Jack the Giant Slayer at the box office wasn't helped by the film's mixed reception from both audiences and critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned just 52% from the former and 55% from the latter, with the consensus reading, "It's enthusiastically acted and reasonably fun, but Jack the Giant Slayer is also overwhelmed by digital effects and a bland, impersonal story." In Matt Goldberg's review of the film for Collider, he scathingly wrote, "There's a complete and utter lack of vision, and that vision is essential if you're going to take an overly familiar tale like Jack and the Beanstalk, and try to bring it to the big screen. Jack the Giant Slayer may be bigger, but the adventure feels as small as ever."

Jack the Giant Slayer is streaming now on Tubi. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.

Jack the Giant Slayer

Like Follow Followed pg-13 Adventure Fantasy Release Date March 1, 2013 Runtime 114minutes Director Bryan Singer Writers Bryan Singer

Cast

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• Nicholas Hault
• Ewan McGregor
• Ian McShane

Genres Adventure, Fantasy Powered by Expand Collapse

• Movie News
• Jack the Giant Slayer
• Nicholas Hoult

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