The Nice Guys is finding a new audience on Apple TV, where the crime comedy currently ranks No. 4 on the streamer’s Top 10 Movies chart, according to FlixPatrol. It moved up from No. 7, the position where it first appeared on the chart, and is currently the most popular acquired movie there, excluding Peanuts specials. Prisoners and Interstellar rank below it.
Set in Los Angeles in 1977, the film follows private investigator Holland March, played by Ryan Gosling, and hired enforcer Jackson Healy, played by Russell Crowe. The mismatched pair investigate a missing girl and the apparently unrelated death of a porn star. Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David and Kim Basinger also appear in the film.
Shane Black directed and co-wrote the movie with Anthony Bagarozzi. Despite its cast and creative team, The Nice Guys earned $63 million worldwide against a reported $50 million budget. It received stronger responses from critics and audiences who saw it in theaters, with Rotten Tomatoes listing approval ratings of 91% and 79%, respectively.
A sequel has been discussed since before the original film’s release, but it has not moved forward. Black said in 2018 that the first movie had not earned enough at the box office to justify a follow-up. Gosling later pointed to the film’s opening weekend against Angry Birds as a factor in its commercial performance, noting that the animated movie went on to get a sequel.
Producer Ken Kao addressed the possibility of The Nice Guys 2 in 2024, saying it would need to be made on a budget. He also argued that films need to be produced sustainably and in a way that gives distributors a reason to release them.
The Nice Guys is currently streaming on Apple TV.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.