Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas’ R-rated survival thriller Eden is coming to Netflix on December 23, 2025. The film arrives nearly five months after its theatrical release, giving it a new chance to reach a wider audience just before the holidays. Directed by Ron Howard, Eden is one of the notable late-year additions to Netflix for fans of intense historical dramas.
When it first hit theaters, Eden struggled at the box office despite its star-studded cast. It opened alongside another Sydney Sweeney film, Americana, and neither gained strong commercial traction. With its Netflix debut, the film now has the opportunity to find renewed interest among streaming viewers.
Eden is based on real-life accounts of European settlers who moved to the Galápagos Islands in the early 1920s, hoping for a peaceful life. Instead, isolation, power struggles, and personal conflicts make survival extremely challenging. While the story draws from true events, some historical details in the film have been disputed.
Sydney Sweeney stars as Margret Wittmer, with Daniel Brühl playing her husband, Heinz. Jude Law appears as Dr. Friedrich Ritter, and Vanessa Kirby plays Dore Strauch. Ana de Armas takes on the role of Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn, a character central to the film’s growing tension. The ensemble also includes Jonathan Tittel, Toby Wallace, Felix Kammerer, Ignacio Gasparini, and Richard Roxburgh.
Upon its theatrical release, Eden received mixed reviews. Critics praised the performances, historical setting, and unsettling atmosphere, but raised concerns about pacing, tonal shifts, and an early climax. Still, the cast’s performances were widely recognized as a strong point of the film.
The Netflix release is especially important for Sydney Sweeney. Her 2025 slate has been busy but challenging, with Eden, Americana, and the sports biopic Christy underperforming in theaters. Streaming success could help reverse that trend. Sweeney also has one more release this year, The Housemaid, hitting theaters on December 19. A strong reception for Eden on Netflix could help her close the year on a high note while giving Ron Howard’s underrated thriller the audience it initially missed.
