Matchbox: The Movie was quietly released without ever hitting cinemas, has been largely derided by critics, but better received by audiences.
Starring John Cena, the action film is named after Mattel’s toy car line, ‘Matchbox’, and contains plenty of car-based action.
A now grown-up group of friends, who once played with Matchbox cars together, must reunite to save the world.
A film’s success is traditionally measured by its ticket sales, but as Matchbox: The Movie went straight to Apple’s streaming service, its financial performance remains hidden.
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Critics have been unfavourable, with the film scoring only 30 per cent positive reviews from professional critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Empire Magazine’s Helen O’Hara gave the film a single star.
“A risible mess of in-your-face product placement and overly familiar plotting, this can’t be saved even by a talented cast of comedians. You’d be better off playing with toy cars,” O’Hara said.
However the general public has been more generous, the film sits at 5.7/10 on IMDB, 2.3/5 on Letterboxd, and 47 per cent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
For comparison, The Fast and the Furious (2001) has a 56 per cent Rotten Tomatoes critic’s score and 74 per cent from the general public.
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“Somewhat predictable but good fun and a lot of laughs. Definitely worth a watch,” wrote one Rotten Tomatoes user.
Preceded by movies including Barbie (2023) and Masters of the Universe (2026), this is far from the first time Mattel has spun its toy products, and product placement isn’t hard to spot in the film.
“It’s been a long time since we played Matchbox cars together”, states one character.
Fans of Mattel’s other toy car brand, Hot Wheels, haven’t been forgotten, with the director behind Wicked slated to direct an upcoming live-action Hot Wheels movie.
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