The Biggest Zombie Movie Of All-Time Is Officially #1 On Streaming At The Perfect Time

Published Sep 30, 2026, 9:56 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

The biggest zombie movie of all time has found new life on streaming years later, once again becoming a major hit, and this new development comes at the perfect time for the franchise. The zombie genre has led to many popular projects in recent years. After the success of AMC's The Walking Dead, which adapted Robert Kirkman's long-running comic book series, there was a zombie boom in Hollywood, with several horror movies and TV shows focused on that subgenre coming out in the years since Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes debuted onscreen. Five high-profile zombie movies have been released in 2026 so far.

That includes projects like Colony, the latest release in the South Korean Train to Busan franchise. Other zombie franchises that got new releases this year include 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which brought back Oscar winner Cillian Murphy to the franchise, as well as Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, which breathed new life into a franchise that really needed it. Now, Brad Pitt's World War Z, the highest-grossing zombie movie of all time with a mighty total of $540.5 million, has come back as a major streaming hit, and it happens after a new franchise update that brings it back.

World War Z Roars Back To Life At The Perfect Time

At the time of writing, World War Z is the most-watched movie on Paramount+ worldwide, according to FlixPatrol. Pitt's zombie movie was originally released in theaters on June 21, 2013. After 13 years, World War Z continues to be a massive hit with horror fans, as can be judged not only by it taking the top spot on Paramount+, but also the other films that it left behind. World War Z currently ranks higher on Paramount+'s global Top 10 Movies chart than the animated Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick, Scream 7, and many more.

As per the new streaming report from FlixPatrol, World War Z is currently trending on Paramount+ in 18 countries, ranking #1 in 17 of them. The only nation where World War Z has become a hit on Paramount+ but not the streaming service's most-watched movie is Brazil, where the biggest zombie movie of all time sits at 10th. According to JustWatch, World War Z can also be streamed on Paramount+ in the United States, though it is not on the streamer's nationwide chart, as well as on MGM+, Philo, and The Roku Channel. World War Z's streaming success comes after the franchise's return confirmation.

What Do We Know So Far About The Sequel?

The zombie movie is experiencing a streaming resurgence after Pitt was officially confirmed to return for World War Z 2. Talks about the sequel have been going on since the original graced the silver screen, but it is now happening for sure, as Paramount announced that Pitt will reprise his role of Gerry Lane, with World War Z 2 being directed by Edward Berger (Conclave). At the time of writing, World War Z 2's release date has yet to be revealed. That said, the fact that the zombie movie is now Paramount+'s #1 film is exciting for the World War Z sequel's box office prospects.