Netflix is poised to launch a Western revival in 2021 with the success of the critically acclaimed films The Harder They Fall and The Power of the Dog. The streaming service has already helped bring back romantic comedies after the genre seemed to be losing steam and has served as a huge platform for Christmas movies, so it only makes sense that the modern Western revival, once thought to be difficult to market to the average moviegoer, can find a home within Netflix's library.
Despite the legendary status of the Western in film history, the genre tends to fluctuate in mainstream popularity. Westerns are prone to rising and falling in waves, enjoying periods of fame before succumbing to relative obscurity to those outside of arthouse circles and genre enthusiasts. There was a Western craze in the nineties when films like Dances with Wolves and Unforgiven garnered Academy Award recognition with their powerfully revisionist themes, then a smaller wave in the early to mid-2010s with films like The Revenant and Django Unchained. Westerns haven't died out completely (neo-Westerns taking place in modern-day settings have become especially prevalent in the 2010s), but the genre's prevalence has waned in recent years.
That is, until 2021, when Netflix released not one, but two major hits that demonstrate the appeal of the Western to mainstream audiences and critics alike. The Harder They Fall, released at the beginning of November, is a high-octane adventure that embraces both classic Western tropes, as well as an all-black cast that more accurately reflects the diversity of The Harder They Fall's time period. On the other hand, the brand new The Power of the Dog is a brooding slow burn that focuses more on the subtleties of cattle ranching than gun-slinging. Both films are currently igniting a renewed fascination with the type of wide-ranging storytelling Westerns can provide, and viewers don't even have to travel to the box office to watch them.
The dominance of streaming technology is proving that more niche genres can develop a stronger following on home televisions than they can in theaters due to easy accessibility and affordability. Netflix, in particular, has previously aided in the revival of romantic comedies after that genre underwent a dry spell while critics and filmmakers were rethinking traditional gender roles. Christmas movies, which have always fared more comfortably with television reruns than on the big screen, have multiplied on the streamer every holiday season like presents under a tree, due to their innate appeal as home background viewing.
Generally, these types of movies tend to be easy, breezy watching. Westerns, on the other hand, can be long and feel slow, often dealing with grand, imposing themes about American culture. Still, Netflix provides a platform for these types of stories while omitting the anxiety of creating a box office bomb. The streamer has already proven with more blockbuster-oriented outings, like Red Notice, that viewership numbers can rival typical box office tickets, even if the product isn't a previously established IP. Couple Netflix's algorithm pushing original content with awards buzz and there's a ripe environment for more public exposure of niche genre films.
Nielsen just revealed that The Harder They Fall topped its U.S. streaming ranking chart during the first week of November with more than one billion minutes watched, while The Power of the Dog landed the top spot on Netflix's Top Ten list the day it debuted. Considering the competition, it's difficult to imagine that a theatrical release of these films would have attracted a similarly sized crowd of viewers. Netflix, however, is delivering Westerns to an audience that perhaps otherwise would not have sought them out at the theater, paving the way for a bona fide comeback of the genre through home streaming.