2015's Most Disappointing Sci-Fi Comedy Respawns on a Free Streamer

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Peter Dinklage as Fire Blaster Eddie Plant in a scene in Pixels.

Published Jan 24, 2026, 11:20 AM EST

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Nearly ten years after it first landed with a thud, Pixels is back — and somehow, against all odds, it’s finding a second life on free streaming. The 2015 sci-fi comedy, which mashed together classic arcade games and an alien invasion, is now easily accessible without a paywall, giving curious viewers (and nostalgia-driven millennials) a chance to reassess one of the most polarizing big-budget comedies of the 2010s.

The cast includes Adam Sandler as Sam Brenner, Kevin James as President Will Cooper, Michelle Monaghan as Violet Van Patten, Peter Dinklage as Eddie “The Fire Blaster” Plant, Josh Gad as Ludlow Lamonsoff, Brian Cox as Admiral Porter, Ashley Benson as Lady Lisa, Jane Krakowski as First Lady Jane Cooper, Sean Bean as Colonel Hill, Denis Akiyama as Professor Iwatani, and Serena Williams as herself.

Back in the '80s, our characters were the best of the best at Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and loads more of the hottest arcade games. Trouble is, now they’re adults and their claim to fame in the gaming realm doesn’t do much for their popularity, social lives, or careers. However, when the aliens use classic arcade game characters to attack the planet, President Will Cooper knows that Sam and the other arcaders are the only ones who can take them down. Here’s the official synopsis for Pixels:

"When intergalactic aliens misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war against them, they attack the Earth, using the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper (James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), now a home theater installer, to lead a team of old-school arcaders (Dinklage and Gad) to defeat the aliens and save the planet."

How Bad Is 'Pixels'?

A true example of a movie scraping a victory from the jaws of defeat, it was produced on a reported budget of $110 million, Pixels grossed nearly $250 million at the global box office. The film also featured some of the worst reviews of those actors' careers. As of right now, it's currently sitting at an 18% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Much like the worst arcade games from the era that inspired it, Pixels has little replay value and is hardly worth a quarter."

You can watch Pixels for free now on Pluto, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.