During Clint Eastwood’s legendary acting career, he achieved several things he can take pride in. One of the biggest has to be the fact that he starred in several films that have gone down in history. A perfect example of his decades-long staying power is that his 1966 Western, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, recently became a success on streaming nearly 60 years after its release.
Clint Eastwood’s ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ Recently Became an MGM+ Streaming Success
After Yellowstone became one of the most successful TV shows in the world, Westerns underwent a surge in popularity. Since then, a massive new group of people has learned that Clint Eastwood is an absolute icon for a very good reason: he starred in some of the best movies ever made. Now, the film that many consider his masterpiece has suddenly become one of the biggest streaming hits.
The website FlixPatrol creates daily lists of the top 10 most-viewed series and movies on all of the biggest streaming services. On October 22, 2026, it revealed that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly had become the No. 9 movie worldwide on MGM+. That is especially remarkable since the film had been released nearly six decades earlier, on December 23, 1966.
The second and third oldest films to make the list of MGM+’s top titles on that day were 1993’s Tombstone and 2001’s Legally Blonde. The list also notably included three 2026 films. All of that shows that Eastwood’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly overcame considerable recency bias to chart.
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ is Often Regarded as the Best Western of All Time
Since the genre has increased in popularity, it seems like there would be more of a debate about what the greatest Western movie of all time is. While there is no doubt that there are a handful of titles that are often part of those conversations, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has topped rankings from Collider, Looper, and TheTopTens.
There are many reasons why the film has been nearly universally praised for decades as one of the best Westerns ever made. Its iconic score, captivating performances, and finale that is impossible to look away from are among them. Additionally, the film is a visual masterpiece with complex characters and a story that doesn’t shy away from the realities of what happened in the Old West. For all those reasons and more, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has earned its hallowed place in pop culture history.
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