Rachel Zegler's Box Office Bomb Turns Global Streaming Sensation

Turns out the bug was infectious after all, as Y2K has become a global streaming hit. Co-written and directed by Saturday Night Live alum Kyle Mooney, the A24 film follows a group of high school students struggling to survive after the year 2000 bug triggers all technology around the world to become sentient and rebel against humanity.

Y2K‘s cast includes Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison, The Kid Laroi, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri, Mason Gooding, Lauren Balone, Eduardo Franco, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, and Fred Durst. Y2K was originally released in theaters in December 2024 and started streaming on HBO Max in April 2025.

Now, one year later, Y2K ranks fourth on HBO Max’s Top 10 movies in the world for today, October 7. It ranks below Superman (2025), 28 Years Later, Materialists, and above Dog Man, Road House (2024), Conan the Barbarian, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Destination Wedding, and Wolf Man (2025).

Y2K‘s global streaming success is somewhat surprising, considering it bombed at the box office when it was released back in December 2024, making only $4.5 million against its $15 million budget. Y2K was one of several box office bombs for Rachel Zegler, preceded by West Side Story (2021), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and followed by Snow White (2025).

Y2K reviews were also mixed, resulting in a 43% Rotten Tomatoes score, praising its bold ambition and fearless creativity, but criticizing its inability to sustain humor amid its uneven mix of tones, as it attempts to combine the apocalyptic, teen, sci-fi, comedy, adventure, and horror genres.

However, despite its critical and commercial failure, audiences can’t seem to stop streaming Y2K, seemingly due to radiant Rachel Zegler, whose presence alone seems to be garnering the interest of audiences, even though she struggles to elevate the mostly mediocre material.

Soon after its streaming release in April 2024, Y2K was the sixth most-watched movie on all streaming platforms in the United States for the week of April 3–9. Now, a year later, Y2K has become a streaming success on a global level.