Afterburn (2025)
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12-month trend
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2025-09 to 2026-08
In a world devastated by a solar flare, a treasure hunter must navigate a wasteland to retrieve a mysterious object for a self-proclaimed king.
The story
Six years after a devastating solar flare decimated Earth's technology, Jake works for August Valentine, the self-proclaimed King of England. Jake is tasked with retrieving valuable pre-flare objects in exchange for funding his dream of restoring a boat. During a mission to France, Jake teams up with Drea, a member of a rebellion against the tyrannical warlord General Volkov. The pair must navigate a dangerous landscape to secure a specific item, unaware of the true nature of the object they are seeking while being pursued by Volkov's forces.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Six years after a solar flare decimated Earth's technology, Jake works for August Valentine, the self-proclaimed King of England, retrieving pre-flare objects. In exchange for his services, August funds Jake's dream of repairing a boat. During a mission to France, Jake and Drea, a rebel fighter, seek the 'Mona Lisa' in a fort on the Maginot Line. They discover the item is actually an American atomic bomb. After Volkov captures the bomb, Jake steals its stop plug and escapes as Drea destroys a bridge, killing Volkov. Jake brings the plug to August and convinces him not to recover the bomb. Jake then sets sail with Drea. In a mid-credits scene, August places the stop plug on the real Mona Lisa.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States; Spain; Slovakia
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- J. J. Perry
- Writers
- Matt Johnson · screenplay; Nimród Antal · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Dave Bautista · Jake; Samuel L. Jackson · August Valentine; Olga Kurylenko · Drea; Kristofer Hivju · General Volkov
- Genres
- post-apocalyptic; action; science fiction
- Themes
- survival; reconstruction
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; bleak
- Premise and plot tags
- post-apocalyptic; treasure hunting; war
- Source material / true-story basis
- Red 5 Comics graphic novel
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with critics criticizing the character development and the linear, cliché-heavy narrative.
- Production trivia
- The production faced a legal dispute regarding a $7.7 million fraud claim in 2025.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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