Acclaimed Matt Damon survival epic storms Netflix Top 10

Matt Damon in The Martian
The Martian has landed in the top 10... (Image credit: 20th Century Fox/Maximum Film/Alamy Stock Photo)

Matt Damon has an impressive filmography including titles such as Good Will Hunting, Oppenheimer, and Ford vs Ferrari, but one film in particular has blasted off and landed in the Netflix top 10. 

Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic The Martian was originally released in 2015, and was based on the book of the same name. At the time it received widespread acclaim, where it received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor in 2016, and received seven nominations in total. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%.

It was so successful, in fact, that former president Barack Obama even listed it in his list of the best movies he's ever seen, so it got plenty of attention at the time. And it's still getting attention now since movie lovers are flocking to Netflix to watch it.

If you aren't familiar with The Martian, here's a rundown of the plot. The movie is set in the year 2035, when the crew of the Ares III are on a mission to Mars, exploring the Acidalia Planitia on Martian solar day (sol) 18 of their 31-sol expedition. It's a huge mission and plenty of experts are on board to ensure things go as smoothly as possible.

But when a severe dust storm threatens to topple their Mars Ascent Vehicle, chaos ensues. Matt Damon's character, an astronaut named Mark Watney, is struck by debris and is presumed dead. As a result, he is left stranded on the planet, with the rest of the crew leaving him behind.

Joining Matt Damon in this cast are some star-studded names including Jessica Chastain, Donald Glover, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Kate Mara, but most of the movie focuses on Mark as he tries to survive.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Donald Glover in The Martian

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Donald Glover in The Martian. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

To date, the movie is number 4 on the Netflix top 10. Top Gun: Maverick is currently number 1, and after What to Watch's glowing 5-star review, we can certainly see why everyone's raving about it!

Other titles battling it out are Lindsay Lohan's new rom-com Irish Wish, Millie Bobby Brown's fantasy movie Damsel, and Ford v Ferrari, meaning Matt Damon actually appears twice in the top 10 for this week!

But will the rankings change next week? We'll have to wait and see...

The Martian is currently available on Netflix.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress