THE 80 MILLION DOLLAR TRAINWRECK CRASHES ONTO NETFLIX
Buckle up, because the most polarizing, expensive, and drug-addled disaster of the last decade has just landed on your laptop screens, and the internet is already tearing it apart. As of December 7, 2025, Damien Chazelle's Babylon is officially streaming on Netflix, giving millions of subscribers the chance to witness the car crash that emptied movie theaters back in 2022.
Let's be real: Nobody saw this movie when it mattered. It was a box office bomb of epic proportions, losing the studio millions and leaving Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie with egg on their faces. But now, thanks to the magic of the Netflix algorithm, this three-hour fever dream of elephant dung, cocaine mountains, and projectile vomiting is trending. Why? Because people love a trainwreck.
Sources inside the industry are whispering that this Netflix dump is the final Hail Mary to recoup some cash from a project that was essentially a burning pile of money. While the film is also gathering dust on Paramount+, the move to Netflix suggests the studio is desperate to find an audience—any audience—for this chaotic mess.
But it is not the cinematography people are talking about. It is the behind-the-scenes behavior of its leading lady that has the cancel culture vultures circling once again.
THE KISS HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD: DID MARGOT GO TOO FAR?
The movie might be about the debauchery of the 1920s, but the real scandal happened in the 2020s. With the film's resurgence on streaming, a controversial interview with Margot Robbie is going viral again, and it paints a picture of on-set behavior that would likely get a male actor fired immediately.
Here is the tea: That steamy kiss between Robbie's character, Nellie LaRoy, and Brad Pitt's Jack Conrad? It was never in the script.
Robbie brazenly admitted that she improvised the smooch solely because she wanted to lock lips with the Hollywood heartthrob. She didn't do it for the art; she did it for herself. In a move that screams "double standard," Robbie confessed she pitched the idea to director Damien Chazelle moments before the take, essentially blindsiding Pitt.
I thought, 'When else am I going to get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt?' I am just going to go for it.
Can you imagine if the roles were reversed? If Brad Pitt had told an interviewer he forced a kiss on a female co-star because "when else am I going to get the chance," Twitter would have burned down by noon. Yet, Robbie laughed it off as a quirky character choice.
Chazelle, apparently loving the chaos, gave her the green light without seemingly consulting Pitt first. When the cameras rolled, Robbie went in for the kill. While Pitt—being the seasoned pro that he is—didn't push her away, insiders and fans are looking at this moment with fresh eyes. Was it acting, or was it a power move by an A-lister exploiting her position? The internet is divided, but the "ick factor" is undeniable.
BRAD PITT: THE FADING STAR PLAYING… A FADING STAR?
Speaking of Brad Pitt, watching Babylon on Netflix feels uncomfortably like watching a documentary about his own life. He plays Jack Conrad, a silent film legend who is slowly realizing the world doesn't want him anymore. Sound familiar?
With his personal life plastered all over the tabloids—the messy divorce from Angelina Jolie, the estrangement from his kids, the winery lawsuits—Pitt's portrayal of a sad, drunk, aging icon hits a little too close to home. Critics savaged the film upon release, but many noted that Pitt looked genuinely exhausted. Was he acting, or was he just tired of the Hollywood machine?
This movie was supposed to be his Oscar vehicle. Instead, it was a speed bump.
Now that it is on Netflix, a whole new generation of Gen Z viewers is discovering the film, and the reaction to Pitt is brutal. They aren't seeing the Sexiest Man Alive; they are seeing a relic of a bygone era. The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. The movie is about the transition from silent films to talkies leaving stars behind, and in 2025, the transition to streaming dominance might be doing the same thing to the old guard of movie stars.
DRUGS, VOMIT, AND CHAOS: WHY AUDIENCES WALKED OUT
If you haven't seen Babylon yet, consider this a trigger warning. The first twenty minutes alone contain more bodily fluids than the entire Jackass franchise. We are talking about an elephant defecating directly into the camera lens. We are talking about a "golden shower" scene involving an obese man. We are talking about mountains of cocaine that make Scarface look like a Disney movie.
This isn't art; it is an assault on the senses.
Reports from the theatrical run in 2022 claimed that audiences were literally walking out of the theater within the first half-hour. It was too much, too loud, and too gross. But on Netflix? It is a different ballgame. You can pause the gross parts. You can fast-forward through the three-hour runtime to get to the juicy drama. This format might actually save the movie from total obscurity.
Insiders say the "hate-watch" metrics are going to be through the roof. People want to see what caused an 80 million dollar loss. They want to see Margot Robbie fight a rattlesnake (yes, that happens). They want to see the sheer excess that got this movie banned from polite conversation.
THE STREAMING WARS: WHERE TO FIND THE FILTH
If you are morbidly curious and want to judge the "forced kiss" for yourself, Netflix is the place to be as of December 7. The platform is rolling it out globally, clearly hoping that the star power of Robbie and Pitt will drive clicks, even if the movie itself is a disaster.
But Netflix isn't the only player in this game. Paramount+ has been holding onto this bomb since its original release, probably hoping everyone forgot about it. If you are subscribed to Paramount+ via Amazon Channels or Roku, you can watch it there without giving Netflix the satisfaction.
Global viewers, listen up: If you are in India, you are looking at Disney+ Hotstar or the JioCinema bundle before it migrates to Netflix. The rights are messy, just like the plot of this movie. The safest bet? Just check JustWatch or search your local listings. Or, save yourself three hours and just watch the clips on TikTok.
For those who still buy movies (who are you?), it is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play. But let's be honest: paying $19.99 to watch an elephant poop is a hard sell in this economy.
MARGOT ROBBIE'S "MANIC" DEFENSE
Despite the flop status, Margot Robbie is standing by her performance as Nellie LaRoy. She has called it the most "audacious" role of her career. And to be fair, she acts her heart out. She screams, she cries, she dances, she does drugs. It is 100 percent energy, 100 percent of the time.
But was it good acting, or just loud acting?
Critics were split. Some called her fearless; others called it exhausting. The character of Nellie is a trainwreck who destroys everything she touches—a fitting metaphor for what this movie did to the studio's quarterly earnings. Robbie's defense of the kiss scene ties into this "manic" persona. She claimed Nellie would do something crazy like kiss Jack Conrad. It is the perfect excuse: "I didn't do it, my character did!"
Nice try, Margot. But the internet never forgets, and that quote about "when else am I going to get the chance" is going to haunt this film's legacy forever.
DIEGO CALVA: THE REAL VICTIM HERE?
Let's pour one out for Diego Calva. The newcomer played Manny Torres, the heart and soul of the film, and he gave an incredible performance. He was supposed to be the breakout star. Instead, he got overshadowed by elephant dung, Brad Pitt's divorce drama, and Margot Robbie's improvised make-out sessions.
Calva's character is the one who suffers the most in the film, and frankly, the actor suffered the most in real life. He hitched his wagon to a star that exploded on the launchpad. While Robbie and Pitt have other franchises to fall back on (Barbie saved Margot, let's be honest), Calva needed this hit. Hopefully, the Netflix revival gives him the recognition he actually deserves, rather than just being "that guy who stood next to Brad Pitt."
FAN REACTION: CULT CLASSIC OR TRASH?
Now that the masses are streaming it, the verdict is coming in hot. Social media is a war zone of opinions. Some are calling it a misunderstood masterpiece that was treated unfairly by critics. Others are confirming that it is, indeed, unwatchable garbage.
The "Film Twitter" bros are already writing thesis papers defending the movie's "bold vision." Meanwhile, the casual Netflix viewer is just confused.
I just watched Babylon and I have no idea what I just saw. Did she just fight a snake? Why is everyone screaming?
Margot Robbie is insane in this. I can't tell if I love it or hate it, but I can't look away. Also, that kiss looked awkward as hell.
Brad Pitt looks so sad. It is like he knows the box office numbers while he is acting in the scene.
Three hours? I fell asleep twice and woke up and they were still partying. Hard pass.
The bottom line: Babylon is back, and it is louder than ever. Whether you watch it for the scandal, the stars, or just to see what an 80 million dollar mistake looks like, you can't deny that it is getting attention. And in Hollywood, even bad attention is better than no attention at all.
Will Netflix turn this flop into a hit? Or will viewers turn it off the second the elephant makes its "deposit"? The streaming numbers will tell the true story next week.
