Lockout: Subject of 2015 John Carpenter lawsuit hits No 1 on Netflix

‘Escape from New York’-inspired thriller starred Guy Pearce as a sarcastic CIA operative sent to a space prison

Over the past few days, the 2012 French film Lockout has unexpectedly risen to the top of the UK’s Netflix rankings.

Lockout stars Guy Pearce as a quippy CIA operative who is sent to rescue the president’s daughter Emilie (Maggie Grace) from a space prison which has been taken over by violent inmates.

The English-language film has bested movies including Joker, Sonic the Hedgehog and the 2022 Netflix original The Adam Project to claim the No 1 spot in the streaming service’s rankings.

On social media, the film has been compared by viewers to Escape From New York, John Carpenter’s classic 1981 action movie starring Kurt Russell.

Both films centre on a skilled, sarcastic mercenary who is forced against their will to rescue an important figure – the president in Escape from New York, the president’s daughter in Lockout – from an area overrun by criminals, while facing a ticking clock.

However, it’s not just contemporary fans who have made the comparison. In 2015, the makers of Lockout were successfully sued by Carpenter for plagiarism, and eventually forced to pay damages of €450,000 (£394,000).

While the film has proved a popular hit on Netflix, reactions to Lockout on social media have been mixed.

Guy Pearce in ‘Lockout’ (Europa Corp/Kobal/Shutterstock)

“Lockout has been added to Netflix! Going to have to watch that again. If you like the best kind of straight-to=video actioners, get it watched,” wrote one person.

“#Lockout on @Netflix really didn’t bother to dial back on the misogyny,” wrote another.

“Watching the movie Lockout on #Netflix. This is the worst movie ever made,” someone else wrote. “Horrible CGI/Graphics, horrible acting, abysmal script, laughably inaccurate science, terrible plot. I mean it is so, so, so, so bad. #1 in movies in the UK today. Literally never seen anything this bad.”

Lockout is on Netflix now.