The Housemaid Hits #1 on Max as Sydney Sweeney's Hot Streak Continues

Sydney Sweeney's ascent through Hollywood's upper echelons has been swift but deliberate, built on a series of choices that favor accessibility and emotional clarity over prestige-film complexity. Her latest project, The Housemaid, is no exception — and the numbers are making the case louder than any awards campaign could.

A Domestic Thriller Built for the Mainstream

Directed by Paul Feig, whose A Simple Favor proved that glossy, darkly comedic suspense could still draw serious theatrical audiences, The Housemaid adapts Freida McFadden's bestselling novel with a firm grasp on what made the source material compulsive reading. Sweeney plays Millie Calloway, a woman in search of a clean slate who accepts a position serving the wealthy Winchester family — only to find that the household's immaculate surface conceals something considerably more sinister beneath. It's a premise with clear antecedents in the psychological thriller tradition, from Rebecca to The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Feig leans into those echoes rather than running from them.

The ensemble assembled around Sweeney is notably strong. Amanda Seyfried takes on the role of Nina Winchester, the family's enigmatic matriarch, while Brandon Sklenar plays her husband Andrew. Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, and Indiana Elle round out a cast that collectively gives the film a more textured ensemble dynamic than the premise might initially suggest.

$400 Million and Climbing

At a moment when adult-oriented, non-franchise thrillers often struggle to justify a wide theatrical release, The Housemaid has been something of an anomaly — and a welcome one. The film has accumulated approximately $400 million in worldwide gross, making it one of the most commercially significant entries in Sweeney's filmography. That figure invites comparison to Anyone but You, the straightforward romantic comedy that demonstrated Sweeney's rare capacity to open a film on the strength of her own appeal alone.

Now streaming on Max, the film has reached the #1 spot on the platform in the United States, a milestone that feels particularly resonant given that Euphoria — the HBO series that first made Sweeney a household name — called the same platform home. With her career taking a fascinating range of directions off-screen as well, the streaming success of The Housemaid keeps her firmly in the cultural conversation.

Where the Film Earns Its Keep

According to Collider, the film's quality isn't entirely uniform. Reviewer Jeff Ewing noted that Sweeney's performance takes some time to find its register, with the quieter, more introspective passages early in the film presenting a greater challenge than the more operatic material that follows. Seyfried, by contrast, was singled out as "stellar throughout" — a verdict that will surprise precisely no one who has followed her career closely since Mamma Mia! and Mean Girls.

What the review makes clear, however, is that The Housemaid ultimately delivers on the promise of its genre. Once the film's central twist arrives, the tension and tonal extravagance that the story has been quietly building toward are released with considerable force. Ewing concluded that the film "sticks the landing for one of the most entertaining finales this year," describing its most unhinged moments as "a wildly enjoyable romp." The film's willingness to resurrect the steamy, dangerous energy of 1990s erotic thrillers — a mode that has largely been absent from mainstream cinema for decades — is treated as a strength rather than a guilty pleasure.

What Comes Next

For Sweeney, the momentum shows little sign of slowing. Fans eager to see her take on still more varied material might note that Immaculate is heading to Netflix US on August 13, giving audiences yet another opportunity to assess just how wide her genre range actually runs. Meanwhile, a sequel — The Housemaid's Secret — is already scheduled for release next December, suggesting that the Winchester universe has considerably more story left to tell.

For now, The Housemaid streaming atop Max feels like a natural homecoming — and a signal that Sweeney's instincts about the kinds of stories audiences actually want to watch remain as sharp as ever.

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