Netflix is giving one of its biggest international action hits a much bigger future.

International action thrillers are finding a huge audience on Netflix, where viewers can discover movies that might otherwise never receive significant exposure outside their home countries. That has helped the platform build a growing collection of non-English hits, with several eventually becoming important parts of its global movie library.

One of those success stories is Counterattack (also known as Counterattack), the Mexican action thriller that became a major Netflix hit after its 2025 debut. The movie ranks among the most popular non-English Netflix movies of all time, and its success is opening the door to something considerably bigger.

Netflix is expanding its relationship with the creative team behind Counterattack as part of a broader push around Mexican cinema, according to Deadline. The streamer stated that there will be an “expansion of the universe,” but the installments won’t be a straight sequel or prequel. The announcement comes after the action thriller amassed more than 69 million views.

Directed by Chava Cartas, Counterattack follows Captain Armando Guerrero, a Mexican Army officer who leads an elite Special Forces unit known as the Murciélagos. After Guerrero and his team rescue two hostages, they discover a mass grave connected to a dangerous cartel. Their discovery makes them targets, forcing the soldiers into a brutal fight for survival. Luis Alberti stars as Guerrero, with Noé Hernández and Luis Curiel also among the principal cast.

The streamer has increasingly demonstrated that an original action movie does not need to come from an established Hollywood franchise to generate enormous viewership. Netflix has already found major success with original action properties, including Exterritorial, which became another major non-English action hit and earned a place among the platform’s most popular international movies.

Counterattack now has an opportunity to follow a similar path, although its future is being shaped by a different strategy. Rather than simply treating the movie as a standalone streaming success, Netflix is using its momentum as part of a larger investment in Mexican filmmaking.

The movie also arrived at a time when Netflix was doubling down on action. The platform’s biggest global hits continue to include action-heavy films, and the streamer has been expanding those movies. For instance, Netflix recently announced that Alan Ritchson’s powerhouse War Machine is getting its own sequel.

The movie has already found its audience through its combination of military action, cartel intrigue, and a tightly focused group of soldiers. The challenge now will be determining how that story can expand while retaining the qualities that made the original so successful. With more than 69 million views, though, Netflix has a pretty compelling reason to find out.

Counterattack is currently streaming on Netflix.

founded

January 16, 2007

founders

Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph