Mark Wahlberg's R-Rated 117-Minute Crime Thriller Gets Another Shot On Streaming
Mark Wahlberg's underseen crime thriller is getting a second chance.
Wahlberg continues to be a regular presence in movies, recently starring in Balls Up (2026), The Family Plan 2 (2025), Play Dirty (2025), and Flight Risk (2025). The actor's career spans many genres, but crime thrillers remain a staple of his filmography. Wahlberg films like The Departed (2006), Contraband (2012), Patriots Day (2016), and Spencer Confidential (2020) have all solidified the star as someone who is right at home in a crime-filled storyline. Though not all of Wahlberg's crime thrillers strike a chord with audiences, but one is now experiencing a bump on VOD.
After releasing in 2007, We Own the Night is now picking up steam on Chili, a VOD platform where users can rent and buy popular movies to download and watch offline. As of writing, the crime thriller ranks as the second most popular movie on the platform worldwide.
Directed by James Gray, We Own the Night tells the story of Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix), a New York City nightclub manager who attempts to stop his brother and father from being killed by hitmen sent by the Russian Mafia. Wahlberg stars as Joe, Bobby's NYPD captain brother, while Robert Duvall plays their father, Burt, an NYPD deputy chief. Eva Mendes also stars in the film as Bobby's girlfriend.
We Own the Night was ultimately only a modest success at the time. Made on a budget of around $21 million, the violent film grossed $55 million worldwide, meaning it may have only barely broken even.
The critical response to the Gray film was also mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, We Own the Night has a score of 57%, with criticism mostly aimed at the movie's script. The response from audiences was marginally more positive, with the Popcornmeter score coming in at 61%. Gray would go on to direct movies like The Lost City of Z (2016), Ad Astra (2019), Armageddon Time (2022), and the upcoming Paper Tiger (2026).
For Wahlberg, the film marked a follow-up to Shooter (2007), which also fell flat at the box office. Shooter went on to develop a cult following, and now stands as one of Wahlberg's most memorable action movies. We Own the Night was followed by The Happening (2008), Max Payne (2008), and The Lovely Bones (2009), none of which were hits, making this stretch of Wahlbeg's career a bit of a rough patch.
We Own the Night is unlikely to ever be considered one of Wahlberg's best performances or best movies, but its newfound streaming success speaks to his continued star power. Even though many of Wahlberg's movies don't fare well with critics, it's clear that he still remains a star who can attract audiences under the right circumstances.