Taylor Sheridan & Jenna Ortega’s R-Rated Crime Thriller Returns As Global Streaming Hit

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Latin America is showing its love for Jenna Ortega.

Jenna Ortega, known for her role in Wednesday, proudly embraces her Mexican and Puerto Rican roots. She’s expressed a desire to celebrate her culture and be a role model for Latino representation in Hollywood, and her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in the popular Netflix series has been a major step in that direction. Now, a lesser-known project of hers is gaining renewed attention on streaming, and it’s receiving support from her family’s country of origin – Mexico.

The crime film Finestkind, produced by Taylor Sheridan and starring Jenna Ortega, didn’t get much attention in theaters after its festival debut in 2023. However, it’s recently become popular on streaming, reaching the top 10 most-watched movies on Paramount+ worldwide as of April 30, 2026.

As a film buff, I’ve been tracking how Finestkind is doing internationally, and it’s really connecting with audiences in Mexico – that’s where the director’s great-grandmother was from, which is pretty cool! It actually hit #8 there, and amazingly, it’s also ranked #8 in 14 other countries. That brings its average ranking to around 8.2, which is fantastic. While #8 seems to be its high point, it’s still doing well, landing at #10 in both Colombia and Uruguay.

The producer of the movie, Sheridan, also has ties to Mexican-themed films, as he wrote the screenplays for both Sicario and its sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Brian Helgeland wrote and directed Finestkind, drawing on his own experiences as a fisherman, but instead of playing in theaters, it was released directly on Paramount+ on December 15, 2023.

The crime thriller starring Ortega received negative reviews, earning a low 27% score on Rotten Tomatoes. While some reviewers praised the performances of actors like Ben Foster and Tommy Lee Jones, they found the story confusing and the film’s tone inconsistent. Many described it as dull and overly dramatic.

While critics generally praised Ortega’s acting, the film Finestkind received largely negative reviews. It’s among her lowest-rated projects, with only Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) scoring lower on Rotten Tomatoes.

In a 2023 interview with Collider, the film’s co-producer, Gary Foster, explained how lucky they were to cast Jenna Ortega right before her career took off. He recalled telling the studio that Ortega had several promising projects on the horizon – including a new Scream movie, Wednesday, and The Fallout – and that they all believed she was a fantastic actress, particularly after seeing her performance in The Fallout.

First, Brian Helgeland needed to be convinced she was the right fit for the role. Second, from a business perspective, they were hoping the movies and the show Wednesday would become successful.

Jenna Ortega’s success with Scream and Wednesday is likely why more people are now watching Finestkind, giving the film a bit of a comeback on streaming platforms.

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2026-04-30 19:31