Matt Damon’s 2006 crime thriller The Departed has officially returned to HBO Max — not as a nostalgic footnote, but as a streaming phenomenon in its own right. The film, which earned Damon an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and helped cement Martin Scorsese’s remake of the Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs as a modern masterpiece, is now one of the most-watched movies on the platform in the US. Its resurgence comes amid the global theatrical dominance of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, in which Damon stars as Odysseus. That film, released earlier this year, has grossed over $1.7 billion worldwide and is already being hailed as Nolan’s biggest commercial and critical success yet, surpassing even The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. It’s also the frontrunner for Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards. As audiences revisit Damon’s recent work, they’re turning back to his earlier triumphs. The Departed, with a reported budget of $90 million, pulled in $289 million globally. $132 million domestically and $157 million internationally, making it the 14th highest-grossing film of 2006. Though it didn’t achieve blockbuster scale at the time, it won four Oscars, including Best Picture, and remains a benchmark in modern crime cinema. Now, as Damon’s profile soars again, the film is enjoying a second life. Collider reports that it’s currently among the top ten most-watched titles on HBO Max, proof of both its enduring power and the momentum behind Damon’s latest role. The timing isn’t coincidental: fans are drawn to the contrast between the man who played a king across centuries and the man who once played a cop buried deep in a lie. One thing’s clear. Whether he’s navigating the seas of myth or the underworld of Boston, Damon’s performances still command attention. And if the numbers on streaming are any guide, the past isn’t just catching up. It’s leading the way.