Netflix Is Barring a Genre-Defining Fantasy Blockbuster for Some Users

2 days ago 6

Image via Netflix

Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

Even as one of its many descendants, Eternity, continues to do stupendously well on the PVOD charts, the high-concept fantasy comedy film Groundhog Day is becoming more difficult to access for Netflix users. The movie is among the 145-odd titles that have been barred by the streamer on its ad-supported tier this month. Originally released in 1993, Groundhog Day is now regarded as one of the greatest comedies of all time, praised for its weighty philosophical themes delivered with a deft touch. It is also notorious for being the final film that star Bill Murray and director Harold Ramis made together before their long feud. Groundhog Day is currently streaming on Netflix, but only to subscribers on the non-ad-supported tiers.

The movie followed a cynical weatherman, played by Murray, reliving the same day over and over again. The term "Groundhog Day" has entered the popular lexicon mainly due to the film's success. Also starring Andie MacDowell and Stephen Tobolowsky, the film grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, against a reported budget of $30 million. It's now sitting at a "certified fresh" 94% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "Smart, sweet, and inventive, Groundhog Day highlights Murray's dramatic gifts while still leaving plenty of room for laughs." The movie was retroactively re-appraised by the late critic Roger Ebert, who changed his original score from three stars out of four to four, and wrote that the film "unfolds so inevitably, is so entertaining, so apparently effortless, that you have to stand back and slap yourself before you see how good it really is."

Harold Ramis and Bill Murray Reconciled Years Later

Besides the recent Eternity, Groundhog Day's influence can also be felt in high-concept fantasy comedy films such as The Truman Show, About Time, and Palm Springs. Its time loop structure can be seen in everything from the Tom Cruise-led cult classic Edge of Tomorrow to the Jake Gyllenhaal-starrer Source Code. Ramis and Murray, who starred together in the groundbreaking comedy classic Ghostbusters, wouldn't reconcile until just before Ramis' death in 2014. But the separation was painful for Ramis, who once told the A.V. Club that he had dreams about reuniting with Murray over the years. You can experience their finest work together on Netflix, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.