Netflix Adds Matthew McConaughey Rom-Com, and It’s Already a Top 10 Movie

Fool’s Gold might have been a box office disappointment and one of the movies that made Matthew McConaughey swear to never make another romantic comedy again, but the movie is finding new life on Netflix. The 2008 comedy, also starring his How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days co-star Kate Hudson, was among the many movies that joined the streaming service on Dec. 1. Fool’s Gold debuted at the number 10 slot on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the U.S. Today chart.

McConaughey starred in the movie as Ben “Finn” Finnegan, a treasure hunter hoping to find a sunken Spanish boat. His wife Tess (Hudson) divorces him during his first trip. He later finds another clue, which he hopes to use to find the treasure and save his marriage. The cast also features Donald Sutherland, Alexis Dziena, Ray Winstone, and Kevin Hart. It was written by Andy Tennant, John Claflin, Daniel Zelman and directed by Tennant, who also helmed Hitch, The Bounty Hunter, and The Secret: Dare to Dream.

When Fool’s Gold hit theaters in February 2008, it was met with an overwhelmingly negative response from critics. The $70 million movie wound up grossing barely more than that, stalling at $111.2 million worldwide. The movie was released at a time when McConaughey’s status as the “go-to” Hollywood rom-com star was beginning to wane. After making just one more rom-com, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, in 2009, McConaughey decided to take a sabbatical from Hollywood. While promoting his book Greenlights last year, McConaughey said he didn’t regret walking away from romantic comedies, even though that meant turning down a $14.5 million paycheck.

“I was very clear…look, intellectually, that was a hard one to say ‘no’ to,” he told E! News in November 2020. “Just looking at that sheer number-are you kidding me? Wow. But I knew I needed to remain on my sabbatical from the films I had been doing for my own soul. And so, no, I never regretted it. But boy, saying ‘no’ to that really solidified my stance for myself. I was like, okay, I’m not breaking now.”

McConaughey came back to movies in 2011, and made a string of critically acclaimed and successful movies. The “McConaissance” culminated with him winning the Best Actor Oscar for 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club. His next movie is the animated Sing 2, in which he reprises the role of Buster Moon. It opens on Dec. 22. Fool’s Gold is the only McConaughey movie available on Netflix as of this writing.