The Maze Runner Trilogy Dominates Netflix Charts After Fourth Movie Announcement

The Maze Runner is sprinting up a major streaming chart. The young adult film franchise, which takes place in a dystopian future where teenagers are put through a series of mysterious challenges, is based on the James Dashner book series of the same name. The Maze Runner movies star Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, and Giancarlo Esposito.

All three movies arrived on Netflix on October 9 and instantly appeared on the Top 10 chart of the most-watched movies in the United States. At the time of writing, 2014’s The Maze Runner is No. 2 (behind only the new Netflix original The Woman in Cabin 10), 2015’s The Scorch Trials is No. 5, and 2018’s The Death Cure is No. 8.

This spread on the chart is natural for a bingeable series, as not every viewer who intends to watch all three movies in a row has had the opportunity to do so, so the third and so far final installment is lagging behind somewhat.

With the exception of the 1995 horror-comedy Casper (No. 9), which is likely surging because of the Halloween season and the movie’s recent 30th anniversary, the first two Maze Runner movies are the oldest entries on the list.

That roster also includes 2017’s Despicable Me 3 (No. 7) and contemporary titles such as KPop Demon Hunters (No. 3), My Father, the BTK Killer (No. 4), Caramelo (No. 6), and About My Father (No. 10).

This strong streaming performance for the franchise comes in the wake of the announcement of the upcoming Maze Runner 4. The project, which is in development as of May 2024, is said to be a new installment set in the same universe without being either a reboot or a direct sequel.

While the project seems to have yet to gather much steam, the streaming success of the original trilogy on Netflix could help propel progress on the project. This shows that the movies are connecting well with contemporary audiences even though they had consistently diminishing returns at the box office, which could be the reason the franchise did not continue beyond the core trilogy.

However, the ending of The Maze Runner: The Death Cure did not necessarily have to mark the end of the film franchise. This is because Dashner wrote quite a few more books in the series, including two prequels and a sequel trilogy titled The Maze Cutter that took place seven decades later.

While the timeline of the books makes it unlikely that the new movie will feature any returning cast members, Dylan O’Brien expressed some interest in reprising his role as Thomas, telling ScreenRant that “I guess I would tackle [a new Maze Runner movie] if it were brought to me” during a 2025 interview about his movie Ponyboi.

While the franchise fizzled out during its original run, this resurgence in general interest for The Maze Runner, both behind the scenes and at home, could eventually lead to it coming roaring back and becoming an established, long-running young adult franchise just like its most popular contemporaries, which include The Hunger Games and Harry Potter.