Rami Malek's 2025 spy thriller, The Amateur, which grossed less than $100 million worldwide during its theatrical release, has found a significant audience on Prime Video. More than a year after its initial debut, the film is currently the second most popular movie on the streaming service in the U.S. and has maintained a presence in the platform's top 10 for 21 consecutive days, according to FlixPatrol.
The film stars Malek, known for his Oscar-winning role in Bohemian Rhapsody, as Charlie Heller, a CIA decoder whose wife is killed in a terrorist attack. When the agency declines to investigate, Heller blackmails them into providing him with the necessary training and resources to pursue his wife's killers independently. Lacking field experience, Heller relies on his intelligence and strategic thinking to track and eliminate his targets, offering a twist on the traditional spy-thriller narrative. The character's journey is described as a revenge fantasy where an individual typically behind a computer screen is forced into the role of an action hero, drawing parallels to the 'Liam Neeson in Taken' hero's journey.
Maleck's unconventional portrayal of the protagonist is seen as a key appeal of The Amateur, even though it did not achieve widespread success in cinemas. The film, based on Robert Littell's 1981 novel, had a reported production budget of $60 million.
In other recent projects, Malek starred in Ira Sachs' musical fantasy The Man I Love, which premiered at Cannes. The film is set in late-1980s New York and features Malek as Jimmy George, a performance artist living with AIDS, alongside actors Tom Sturridge and Rebecca Hall. However, the renewed popularity of The Amateur on streaming platforms may reignite interest in Malek's potential as an action star, though it remains to be seen if this success will lead to further roles in the genre.