James McAvoy has quietly scored an unexpected streaming hit.
A little-known psychological thriller titled Pose has surged into Prime Video’s UK charts after a surprise release, catching even dedicated fans of the actor off guard. The film, which originally carried the working title Turn Up the Sun!, never received a theatrical run in the UK — yet it is now outperforming many high-profile releases online.
Since landing on Prime Video over the weekend, Pose has climbed rapidly to become one of the platform’s most-watched films, sitting just behind recent action releases like Afterburn and the John Wick spin-off Ballerina.
A Weekend Escape That Turns Into a Psychological Trap
Directed and written by indie filmmaker Jamie Adams, Pose centers on two couples who arrive at the same remote manor house, each believing they have booked the property for a private getaway. What begins as an awkward coincidence soon transforms into a tense mind game, as shifting power dynamics and hidden motives gradually come to the surface.
Rather than relying on a traditional script, Adams took an unusual approach: the entire film was built around improvisation. The cast received only a basic outline of the story, with scenes and dialogue created on the spot during filming.
Alongside McAvoy, the film stars Emily in Paris actor Lucas Bravo and Speak No Evil breakout Aisling Franciosi.
McAvoy’s Second Experiment With Improvised Thrillers
This is not McAvoy’s first venture into unscripted filmmaking. In 2021, he previously starred in My Son, a thriller where he performed without knowing the full story in advance — a bold experiment that divided audiences and critics alike.
With Pose, he returns to that risky format, delivering a performance that some viewers find gripping and raw, while others remain unconvinced.
Early audience reactions reflect that divide. Online ratings swing dramatically between harsh criticism and enthusiastic praise, with some calling the film “unfocused” and others describing it as “surprisingly emotional” and “strangely addictive.”
From Streaming Surprise to Future Big-Screen Projects
Although Pose skipped cinemas entirely, McAvoy’s next project will take him back to the big screen — this time behind the camera as well.
His upcoming film California Schemin’ marks his directorial debut and tells the true story of Scottish hip-hop duo Silibil N’ Brains, who famously posed as Americans to break into the US music scene. While McAvoy does not play one of the rappers, the film has already attracted strong early buzz.
For now, however, Pose is proving that even a low-profile release can become a major talking point when it lands in the right place at the right time.
Pose is currently streaming on Prime Video in the UK for all subscribers.
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons