Russell Crowe’s largely forgotten historical epicThe Water Divinerhas found success on streaming, more than a decade after its original release in theaters. A new audience appears to be discovering the actor’s directorial debut, which hit screens in 2014. Crowe stars in the film as an Australian farmer and water diviner by the name of Joshua Connor. It is an often-overlooked performance, especially whenup against the likes ofMaximus inGladiatorand Jeffrey Wigand inThe Insider, but now the titular outlaw hero is having his turn in the spotlight.
The Water Divinerhad a limited theatrical release in the United States in April 2015, but it recently found a new home at HBO Max, where it has staged a comeback. The contemporary western, which also starsThunderbolts*actress Olga Kurylenko andThe Suicide Squadstar Jai Courtney, currently sits at No. 6 on the streamer’s Top 10 movies chart, ranking ahead of Miles Teller’s 9% RT flopGet a Joband Ryan Coogler’s 97% RT mega-hitSinners, though it still has a long way to go if it hopes to toppleone of 2025’s best horror moviesfrom the top spot.
Audiences interested in historical dramas might be drawn towardsThe Water Diviner, as the film takes place four years after the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War, chronicling the journey of Joshua Connor, who travels to Turkey in search of his three missing sons in the aftermath of the campaign. He crosses paths with others who have suffered losses, befriending a hotelier named Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) and her son, as well as a Turkish officer who fought in the battle and may be able to offer closure to a concerned father in his quest for answers.
‘The Water Diviner’ Proved Divisive With Audiences
The film, directed by Crowe from a script co-written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight, opened in Australian and New Zealand theaters in 2014 — the same year that Crowe starred in Akiva Goldsman’s fantasy romanceA New York Winter’s Taleand Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epicNoah, which remainsthe director’s highest-grossing film to date.The Water Divinerfailed to reach the same heights financially, grossing only $35 million at the worldwide box office against an estimated production budget of $22 million.
The Water Diviner
