Tom Hanks' WWII epic enters Oppenheimer era on charts
Tom Hanks' 20-episode History Channel documentary World War II with Tom Hanks has dominated digital charts for over a month and is now entering the late-war "Oppenheimer era," covering Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the atomic bomb race—while his 90-minute thriller Greyhound remains one of Apple TV's biggest streaming hits, extending the Saving Private Ryan legacy that built his WWII catalogue.
Key Takeaways
- World War II with Tom Hanks has topped domestic iTunes and Amazon charts for more than a month on The History Channel.
- Episodes 13 and 14 link D-Day, dramatized in Saving Private Ryan, to the atomic age chronicled in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
- Greyhound has spent 700-plus days on Apple TV streaming leaderboards and ranks among the platform's biggest films ever.
- Greyhound 2 is filming in Australia, with Hanks returning as writer and star.
Why Is Tom Hanks' WWII Series Dominating Digital Charts Right Now?
More than a month into its 20-episode run, World War II with Tom Hanks continues to climb digital leaderboards. FlixPatrol data cited by Collider shows the series reached the upper tier of the domestic iTunes chart within a day of its Memorial Day premiere and has held strong on Amazon as well.
For Hanks, the momentum is familiar. The two-time Oscar winner has anchored World War II storytelling for decades, from Saving Private Ryan to executive-producing Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Masters of the Air. The new documentary, which he hosts and executive-produces, is billed as one of the most complete accounts of the conflict.
The appetite extends beyond Hanks. As IMDb reported, Alfie Allen's WWII series SAS: Rogue Heroes is also a streaming hit on HBO Max and MGM+. For more coverage, see our Celebrity Breaking News hub.
What Does the 'Oppenheimer Era' Mean for the Documentary?
The series is in its home stretch, and upcoming episodes mark a sharp turn. Episode 13 revisits Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy dramatized by Spielberg and Hanks in Saving Private Ryan. Episode 14 shifts to Allied clashes in Asia that ended with the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
That places the show in the period when J. Robert Oppenheimer oversaw the world's first atomic weapons—a story Nolan captured in Oppenheimer, the highest-grossing WWII film ever at $975 million worldwide, per Collider. New episodes air on The History Channel and arrive digitally the day after premiere.
How Did Greyhound Become One of Streaming's Biggest War Hits?
Hanks' 2020 Apple TV original Greyhound has quietly become a streaming juggernaut. The 90-minute naval thriller follows U.S. Navy Commander Ernest Krause leading an Allied convoy across the Atlantic while hunted by German U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic.
Originally set for theaters, the $50 million film was sold to Apple TV for a reported $70 million during the pandemic. Critics praised the pacing—the film holds a Certified Fresh 78% on Rotten Tomatoes—and audiences kept watching. MovieWeb reports Greyhound has stayed on Apple TV's global charts for six years and spent 736 days on the U.S. leaderboard.
What's Next for Tom Hanks and Greyhound 2?
Greyhound 2 is filming in Australia, with Hanks returning as writer and star alongside director Aaron Schneider. Hanks told TIME the sequel draws on a true story of a ship that survived 19 bombings in a single morning. With the documentary entering its atomic-age episodes and Greyhound still charting, Hanks' World War II footprint shows no sign of fading.