Cast of Heart of Stone: Hit or Flop? Filming & Salaries Explained

Is a $150 million spy thriller a hit or a flop when no one releases box office data? Heart of Stone, Netflix’s big-budget action film starring Gal Gadot and featuring Alia Bhatt’s Hollywood debut, forces that exact question. We dig into the verified facts about the cast, the filming locations, and the ambiguous question of whether it was a hit or a flop.

Release date: 2023 ·
Budget: Reported $150 million ·
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: Approximately 27%

The pattern of five key specs tells a story about production scale and cost.

Was Heart of Stone a hit or a flop?

Netflix spent a reported $150 million to produce the film, making it one of the streamer’s most expensive original movies (Wikipedia). Unlike traditional theatrical releases, Netflix does not disclose box‑office grosses or streaming viewership in the same way. The company has its own metric: hours viewed in the first 28 days. For Heart of Stone, that number has not been publicly shared, so judging “hit” vs. “flop” relies on indirect signals like social buzz and critical reception.

Financial performance on Netflix

Critics were largely unimpressed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a critics’ score of about 27% based on over 100 reviews, with the consensus calling it “derivative” (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator)). Metacritic gives it a score of 44/100. Audience scores are slightly higher; the RT audience rating sits near 56% at last check. The gap suggests that general viewers found more entertainment value than critics did.

Critical reception and audience scores

Critics were largely unimpressed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a critics’ score of about 27% based on over 100 reviews, with the consensus calling it “derivative” (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator)). Metacritic gives it a score of 44/100. Audience scores are slightly higher; the RT audience rating sits near 56% at last check. The gap suggests that general viewers found more entertainment value than critics did.

The pattern: Gal Gadot’s star vehicle draws audiences but not praise, leaving Netflix’s $150 million bet on opaque ground.

Where was the film Heart of Stone filmed?

Principal photography spanned Europe from January to July 2022. According to production records, the crew shot in Iceland, Portugal, Morocco, and the United Kingdom (Wikipedia). The Alpine action sequence was actually filmed in Italy.

Primary filming locations in Europe

The film’s most dramatic set piece—a chase around a mountain peak—was staged in the Italian Dolomites. Portugal’s Algarve coast doubled for tropical locales, while Reykjavik provided the cold‑weather backdrop for the opening act. The variety of landscapes helped create a globe‑trotting aesthetic without leaving Europe.

Specific sets for key action sequences

The choice of European locations allowed the production to maximize visual scale while staying within a manageable production footprint—a common strategy for streamers seeking premium aesthetics at logistical efficiency.

The implication: Gal Gadot’s character travels the world on screen, but the crew never left Europe—a cost-saving choice that still delivers visual variety.

How much did Alia Bhatt get paid for Heart of Stone?

Alia Bhatt plays Keya Dhawan, a hacker who becomes both a target and an unlikely ally to Stone (Wikipedia). The role marked her debut in a major Hollywood production, generating significant buzz among Indian and international audiences.

Her role in the film

Reports from entertainment trade outlets suggest Bhatt was paid between $400,000 and $600,000 for the film. However, her exact salary has not been confirmed by the actress, her representatives, or Netflix. For context, that range is modest compared to her Bollywood earnings but typical for a first English‑language lead in a big‑budget streamer.

Reported compensation and industry context

Reports from entertainment trade outlets suggest Bhatt was paid between $400,000 and $600,000 for the film. However, her exact salary has not been confirmed by the actress, her representatives, or Netflix. For context, that range is modest compared to her Bollywood earnings but typical for a first English‑language lead in a big‑budget streamer.

Is Heart of Stone a good movie according to critics and audiences?

Reviewers uniformly noted that the plot follows a well‑worn template: maverick agent, rogue asset, betrayal, redemption. The RT critics consensus summarizes it as “a generic spy thriller that wastes its talented cast” (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator)).

Critics’ consensus

On IMDb, the film carries a user rating of 5.7/10. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score sits at roughly 56%—significantly higher than the critics’ 27%. The spread indicates that while critics found the film derivative, general audiences appreciated the action set pieces and Gal Gadot’s performance.

Audience reaction on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes

Audience scores on streaming platforms can be skewed by self‑selection: people who finish the movie are more likely to rate it. Still, the gap suggests that Heart of Stone is more entertaining than its critical reception implies.

What this means: Gal Gadot’s performance carries the film for general audiences, but critics penalize the formulaic storytelling—a split that defines Netflix’s content strategy.

“The film is a global spy thriller centered on a mysterious asset called The Heart.”

Netflix (official trailer description)

“Rachel Stone is the only woman standing between her organization and the loss of its most valuable and dangerous asset.”

Rotten Tomatoes (synopsis)

For Netflix, the gamble on a $150 million spy thriller with a star‑studded cast but derivative script reflects a content strategy that prioritises volume and star power over critical acclaim. For viewers debating whether to spend two hours on Heart of Stone, the choice is simple: if formulaic action with glossy production is your comfort zone, it delivers. If originality is a deal‑breaker, skip it. Gal Gadot’s performance is the main draw, but the film’s success remains unmeasured by traditional metrics.

For a detailed breakdown of every actor and their role, check out the full cast of Heart of Stone on NewsNative.

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