A pulse-pounding Netflix thriller is racing past the competition in early 2026. 96 Minutes, a high-stakes action film that blends real-time suspense with disaster-movie spectacle, has surged into Netflix’s Top 10 across multiple regions since landing on the platform on January 30, 2026.
Taiwanese movie 96 Minutes is a streaming hit on Netflix
Momentum built quickly after 96 Minutes stationed itself on Netflix. According to Flix Patrol, the movie has ranked in the Top 10 in countries including Australia, Mexico, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates, among others. The rapid climb shows how action-forward, time-boxed thrillers continue to travel well across markets on Netflix, especially when the premise is instantly graspable.
While Taiwanese cinema is often celebrated for its arthouse auteurs and charming rom-coms, 96 Minutes represents a bold, blockbuster-sized declaration of intent. 96 minutes first premiered theatrically on June 20, 2025, and its streaming debut has given it a second wind. This time, with a global audience discovering it all at once.
With a budget of US$5 million, director Hung Tzu-hsuan has crafted a creditable entry into the disaster epic market. The investment has paid off, making it the third top-grossing local film in Taiwan for 2025 and now a global streaming hit. The plot is a relentless race against time.
Bomb disposal expert Song Kang-ren (Austin Lin) boards a southbound bullet train from Taipei to Kaohsiung with his police detective fiancée, Huang Xin (Vivian Sung). Their journey turns into a nightmare when they are alerted to a live explosive on board. Kang-ren has just 96 minutes until the final destination to disarm the threat. However, the crisis is deeply personal, forcing him to confront a guilty secret from his past tied to a downtown double bombing tragedy three years earlier.
As a modern retelling of Junya Sato’s The Bullet Train (1975), 96 Minutes delivers a potent and gripping ride that has clearly connected with Netflix audiences worldwide.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.net.
