Inside Man: Most Wanted, the 2019 sequel to Spike Lee’s classic crime thriller starring Denzel Washington, is now trending around the world on streaming. The direct-to-video movie was released on Netflix to little fanfare six years ago and has been completely overlooked by critics ever since, but has now made its way into the streaming platform’s global top 10. Directed by M. J. Bassett and starring Aml Ameen in the Denzel Washington role as an NYPD hostage negotiator, Inside Man: Most Wanted appears to have benefited from the arrival of its forerunner on Netflix last year.
The streaming giant first dropped Spike Lee’s heist movie Inside Man on its platform in May 2024, and after leaving later in the year, the film returned to Netflix in January 2025. Meanwhile, its sequel has been available to watch on Netflix since December 2019. Inside Man: Most Wanted is set five years after the original movie, and centers on a heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Opposite Ameen’s hostage negotiator, Roxanne McKee and Jessica Sutton star as the bank robbers leading the heist.
Inside Man: Most Wanted Is Now In Netflix’s Global Top 10 Movies

It Has Reached Number 6 On The Chart

After five and a half years on Netflix, Inside Man: Most Wanted has climbed to number 6 in the platform’s global top 10 chart for movies, overtaking the likes of Tom Hardy’s latest action flick Havoc, and Indian political thriller The Diplomat. Originally made as a direct-to-video movie, the Inside Man sequel never had the benefit of a high-profile theatrical release and has never received the kind of promotion afforded to Netflix’s own flagship original releases.

Inside Man: Most Wanted is further proof that the streaming age has brought a whole new meaning to the term “sleeper hit.”

Although it does seem to have been boosted by the popularity of Inside Man and other Denzel Washington crime thrillers like The Equalizer 2 on Netflix, it’s still a surprise to see Inside Man: Most Wanted become the platform’s sixth most-watched movie in the world this week. The film is further proof that the streaming age has brought a whole new meaning to the term “sleeper hit.”
Our Take On Inside Man: Most Wanted Becoming A Global Streaming Hit

It’s Made For Fans Of The Original 2006 Crime Thriller & Heist Movie Enthusiasts

Inside Man: Most Wanted has been completely ignored by mainstream movie critics since its release, and its current streaming success comes despite unremarkable audience ratings when it was first released in 2019. The film is clearly tailor-made for fans of the original Inside Man, with a similar plot built around the robbery of a major New York bank with Nazi connections.

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A new heist movie from Netflix attaches three major stars, including The Batman’s Robert Pattinson and two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington.

However, Denzel Washington and Spike Lee fans should be more excited about the pair’s upcoming cinematic collaboration. Highest 2 Lowest bears a genuine resemblance to Inside Man, and is coming to Apple TV+ in September after a limited theatrical release.
On the other hand, Inside Man: Most Wanted might be based on the original movie, but involves none of its key players either in front of or behind the camera. It’s worth a viewing for fans of entertaining but insubstantial heist flicks, but it doesn’t have a patch on the film that inspired it.

Inside Man: Most Wanted

Release Date

September 24, 2019

Runtime

105 Minutes

Director

M. J. Bassett

Writers

Brian Brightly

Inside Man

Release Date

March 24, 2006

Runtime

129 minutes

Writers

Russell Gewirtz