“Back in Action,” the action comedy movie Jamie Foxx was finishing up in 2023 in Atlanta when he almost died, has been the No. 1 movie on the streaming service since it came out Jan. 17 in the United States and hit No. 1 in at least 85 other countries, according to The Wrap.
Netflix also said the movie generated the most views in an opening weekend for an English-language movie since 2022’s “The Adam Project,” a sci-fi action film starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner.
Atlanta has been a popular home for several Netflix projects in recent years including “Cobra Kai,” “Stranger Things,” “Sweet Magnolias” and Tyler Perry projects like “The Six Triple Eight” and “Beauty in Black.” But the TV and film business is starting a bit slow in the state this year with just 16 active projects listed on the Georgia film office site, none from Netflix, which wrapped the final season of “Stranger Things” at the end of December.
Streaming services, broadcast and cable networks have cut back on original productions the past couple of years and many big-budget films have gone overseas, especially England, which boosted its tax credit system last year.
Credit: John Wilson/Netflix
Credit: John Wilson/Netflix
The biggest project currently shooting in Atlanta is the seventh installment of the “Scream” franchise with actors Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell returning. In the coming weeks, projects coming to the area include a Hulu limited series with David Harbour and Jason Bateman “DTF St. Louis” and a Rose Byrne drama for Peacock “The Good Daughter.”
“Back in Action” was a comeback vehicle for Cameron Diaz, who had taken an extended break from acting. Foxx and Diaz play former CIA agents who choose to bow out after she gets pregnant. For 15 years, they live a “normal” suburban life in Atlanta as a married couple and have two kids.
But after going “viral” fighting men at Tongue & Groove, the nightclub in Buckhead in the Lindbergh neighborhood, while trying to retrieve their teen daughter, their enemies find out where they are and go after them. As a result, the lapsed agents are forced to escape to England with their family and take down the bad guys.
“Back in Action” is no groundbreaker, covering territory many other prior films of its ilk have followed. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Back in Action” received a mere 25% positive rating among critics but a kinder 60% among viewers. The consensus review on Rotten Tomatoes: “It’s good to have Diaz and Foxx back, but they deserve a warmer welcome than this rote action-comedy.”
Foxx and Diaz shot a bulk of the film in England but came to Atlanta for several weeks in early 2023. With just a few days left to shoot, Foxx fell ill and was hospitalized at Piedmont Hospital. In an emotional Netflix special he recorded at the Alliance Theatre in October, he credited the doctors at Piedmont for saving his life after a stroke. He told the audience his daughter Anelise helped him get better by playing the guitar while he was unconscious, dubbing her his “spiritual defibrillator.”
The producers in early 2023 tried to finish “Back in Action” using doubles after he fell sick but did not officially finish the film until early 2024 after Foxx recuperated. They returned to Atlanta for several days of reshoots a year ago, including key scenes at Tongue & Groove.
![Jamie Foxx was at Tongue & Groove nightclub Jan. 24, 2024 shooting scenes for the Netflix film "Back in Action." (The inset photo is from a celebrity golf tournament in Honolulu Jan. 10, 2024.) RODNEY HO/AJC [Inset: AP]](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/v2/2EVQN52DV5DRPPB23NNVBH2PSU.jpg?auth=518765512a2cc18e58977755715898c61f5cd0774b1dc60b30cf8c91f1668ed6&width=1000&smart=true)
Credit: RODNEY HO/[Inset: AP]
Credit: RODNEY HO/[Inset: AP]
About the Author
