Denzel Washington’s $573M R-Rated Franchise That Launched A CBS Hit Series Is Leaving Its Free Streaming Home Soon

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Denzel Washington’s popular film series is leaving the free streaming platform it currently calls home, though reports suggest he’s interested in making two more movies in the franchise.

The Equalizer film series, starting with the 2014 movie, stars Denzel Washington as Robert McCall, a retired Marine and intelligence officer seeking a peaceful life. However, he keeps getting drawn back into action when he encounters dangerous criminals. The movies also marked a reunion between Washington and director Antoine Fuqua, who hadn’t worked together since the 2001 film Training Day, for which Washington won his first Best Actor Academy Award.

After being available for free on Tubi for about 12 years, the first two Equalizer movies will no longer be available there starting January 31st. The third movie remains available on streaming services like Hulu and FuboTV, but requires a subscription.

Denzel Washington’s work in The Equalizer movies was a notable shift in his career. Not only did it reunite him with director Antoine Fuqua, but the films also represented his biggest dive into the action genre of a single hero taking on many opponents – a type of movie that had become popular with films like Liam Neeson’s Taken and Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.

What really stands out is that The Equalizer movies are the only film series Denzel Washington has stayed with since the start. Over his impressive 50-year career, he’s only appeared in four sequels: The Equalizer films and the upcoming Gladiator II. Several other potential sequels, like those to The Bone Collector and Inside Man, were discussed but never actually made.

It’s clear why Denzel Washington returned for The Equalizer series – the movies have proven popular with audiences. While critics haven’t always loved them, viewers have, giving the three films an average score of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. More importantly, the series has earned a total of $573 million at the box office, with each movie bringing in around $190 million.

The popularity wasn’t just due to Washington’s movies. Soon after, CBS launched a reboot of The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah. While the show didn’t mention the films or brand itself as a separate story, it ran for five seasons before being cancelled, along with a planned spin-off featuring Titus Welliver (Bosch) and Juani Feliz (Civil War). Fans had mixed reactions to the cancellation, but reports suggest the show was too expensive to continue.

Although it’s a letdown that The Equalizer movies are leaving Tubi – where you can also find the first four seasons of the TV show – fans still have options. All three films remain available on Hulu, and Denzel Washington has mentioned plans for a fourth and fifth movie. Now that Queen Latifah’s show has been cancelled, giving her more free time, it will be interesting to see if Washington and director Antoine Fuqua consider adding her to the film series.

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2026-01-31 00:00