New Stephen King adaptation Salem's Lot beats The Penguin and Agatha All Along to become second-most streamed title in the US, despite low Rotten Tomatoes score

Spooky season is in full swing as new horror movie Salem’s Lot has beat out major DC and Marvel titles in becoming the second most streamed title right now. 

Salem’s Lot is the second most popular title on streaming overall in the US for the week of October 3 – 9, according to data collecting website ReelGood. The horror movie sits behind Netflix's original romantic comedy series Nobody Wants This.

This means that the vampire movie, which skipped a theatrical release and went straight to streaming in the US, has beaten titles such as Apple TV Plus’ Wolfs, Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and Netflix’s It's What's Inside. But more importantly, it has surpassed Disney Plus’ new Marvel show Agatha All Along and HBO’s DC show The Penguin, despite The Penguin episode 4 earning an impressive IMDb rating of 9.5 out of 10.

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Based on the legendary 1975 novel of the same name by Stephen King, Salem’s Lot follows an author named Ben Mears who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot to find inspiration for his new book. But his creative process is interrupted when he quickly realizes that local residents are being turned into vampires by a mysterious new neighbor. 

However, despite the movie flying to the top of streaming chats, it has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike with some absolutely loving the King movie and others feeling it lacks a punch. In our Salem’s Lot review, we call it "the kind of fun midnight movie that teens flocked to in the '70s".

But despite the mixed reviews and Salem’s Lot currently sitting at a measly 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has exceeded expectations. This is yet another win for the horror genre this October, after Terrifier 3 shocked moviegoers and surpassed Joker 2 at the box office last weekend. Halloween has come early.

Salem’s Lot is directed by Gary Dauberman and stars Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodward, Mackenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, and Spencer Treat Clark, amongst others. 

Salem’s Lot is available to stream on Max in the US and is out in theaters in the UK. For more on Salem’s Lot, check out our interviews with the cast on how they stayed true to King and what it was like to shoot the scariest scene in the movie. Or, check out our selection of the best horror movies of all time and all of the upcoming horror movies on the way.