Netflix’s Top Hit Movies and Shows, Ranked

For years, Netflix was known for keeping viewership numbers secret. However, after releasing some data for some of its content, the company launched a website in mid-November displaying charts of its most recent top shows and movies, as well as a worldwide ranking of its most-watched titles of all time.

The charts are a rich source of information about the most-watched content on Netflix, as they are refreshed weekly and sorted based on the total viewing time by subscribers. The website provides insights into the top titles from the past week, both worldwide and for over 90 individual countries. This is designed to assist subscribers in discovering the most popular content on the largest subscription streaming service and uncovering new and exciting shows to watch.

Every Tuesday, the company releases its updated “Top 10 on Netflix” list, which reflects the viewing hours of both original and licensed titles from the previous week’s Monday through Sunday. The rankings are divided into four categories: top 10 English language films, top 10 English language TV shows, top 10 non-English language films, and top 10 non-English language TV shows.

The site also features a ranking of the all-time most watched titles, which includes shows that have received the highest viewing hours within their first 28 days of release. Netflix separates these into categories such as English language films, English language TV shows, non-English language films, and non-English language TV shows. However, for the charts presented below, there is no distinction made between different languages.

Netflix keeps track of the viewership of a new season that is released in two parts on separate dates by counting the watch time of the first volume’s episodes for the first 28 days, followed by counting the watch time of the second volume’s episodes for the first 28 days. The all-time rankings are updated every Tuesday, reflecting any programs that enter the charts during the preceding week.

To be listed among the all-time most watched shows and movies, sustained popularity in multiple countries is a must. This means that even if a title has a “Top 10” badge on Netflix’s app for several days, it may not have generated enough viewing hours to reach the all-time rankings.

For instance, Ginny & Georgia’s second season, a mother-daughter series blending comedy and drama, has amassed a staggering 486.2 million hours of viewing in its first 25 days of release. It still has a few days left in its 28-day window to increase its watch-time. On the other hand, the romantic-comedy movie “You People” has already generated 55.7 million hours of viewing in just its first three days.

The all-time list requires TV shows to accumulate nearly half a billion hours and films over 200 million hours. Despite their popularity, it takes multiple weeks of sustained viewership to reach these milestones.

The Top-Watched Films on Netflix, by Total Hours Viewed

The following films have been reported by Netflix to have the highest total hours viewed in the first 28 days of release, according to the streaming service:

Red Notice, an action movie featuring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, viewed for 364 million hours.
Don’t Look Up, a dark comedy boasting an all-star cast, viewed for 359.8 million hours.
Bird Box, a post-apocalyptic film starring Sandra Bullock, viewed for 282 million hours.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, a whodunit sequel, viewed for 279.7 million hours.
The Gray Man, a CIA action thriller, viewed for 253.9 million hours.
The Adam Project, a sci-fi adventure comedy, viewed for 233.2 million hours.
Extraction, an action movie starring Chris Hemsworth, viewed for 231.3 million hours.
Purple Hearts, a romantic drama about a musical-marine marriage, viewed for 228.7 million hours.
The Unforgivable, a drama following a woman’s life after prison, viewed for 214.7 million hours.
The Irishman, a period Mafia epic directed by Martin Scorsese, viewed for 214.6 million hours.

Top-ranked films have fallen off Netflix’s all-time charts

The Kissing Booth 2 – a teen rom-com sequel that was streamed for 209.3 million hours.
6 Underground – a high-octane Michael Bay film featuring Ryan Reynolds that clocked in at 205.5 million hours.
Spenser Confidential – a Mark Wahlberg-led action-comedy that accumulated 197.3 million hours of viewership.
Enola Holmes – a period mystery film that garnered 189.9 million hours of streaming time.
Army of the Dead – a heist movie set in a zombie apocalypse that reached 187 million hours of viewership.
The Old Guard – an action-thriller led by Charlize Theron that was streamed for 186 million hours.
Murder Mystery – a comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston that had 170 million hours of viewership.

Top-ranking non-English movies on Netflix

Rogue City – A French action thriller about an unconventional police team – 66.6 million hours watched.
Carter – A South Korean action film about a man with no memories and a mysterious voice – 65.4 million hours viewed.
The Forgotten Battle – A Dutch movie about World War II – 60.9 million hours watched.
Restless – A French action-packed thriller – 59.1 million hours viewed.
Lost Bullet – A French version of Fast & Furious – 58.3 million hours watched.
Spoiled Brats – A French comedy about wealthy siblings who learn the value of hard work – 56.9 million hours viewed.
Alive – A South Korean movie about surviving the zombie apocalypse as a gamer – 54.6 million hours watched.
Space Sweepers – A South Korean space western featuring a child-android weapon – 53.3 million hours viewed.
The Last Mercenary – A French action movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme as the lead – 52.1 million hours watched.
Just Another Christmas – A Brazilian comedy about the festive season – 48 million hours watched.

Top-watched Netflix series, based on total viewing hours during the first 28 days of release

Squid Game (Season 1), a Korean survival thriller, with 1.65 billion hours viewed.
Stranger Things (Season 4), a retro sci-fi series, with 1.35 billion hours viewed.
Wednesday, a coming-of-age supernatural dark comedy, with 1.24 billion hours viewed.
Dahmer, a true-crime serial killer series, with 856.2 million hours viewed.
Money Heist (Part 5), a Spanish-language thriller, with 792.2 million hours viewed.
Bridgerton (Season 2), a period romance, with 656.3 million hours viewed.
Bridgerton (Season 1), with 625.5 million hours viewed.
Money Heist (Part 4), with 619 million hours viewed.
Stranger Things (Season 3), with 582.1 million hours viewed.
Lucifer (Season 5), a fantasy police procedural, with 569.5 million hours viewed.
All of Us Are Dead, a Korean zombie thriller set in a high school, with 560.8 million hours viewed.
The Witcher (Season 1), a fantasy show, with 541 million hours viewed.
Inventing Anna, a true-crime limited series about a fake socialite, with 511.9 million hours viewed.
13 Reasons Why (Season 2), a controversial teen drama, with 496.1 million hours viewed.

Note: Any changes in rankings from the previous week are highlighted in bold. Netflix counts the viewing hours of each title’s first volume’s episodes for their first 28 days, and then it counts the viewing hours of the second volume’s episodes for their first 28 days.

Top-ranking shows Netflix’s official all-time charts

With a total of 491.1 million hours, Ozark (Season 4) is a highly-watched crime drama series. The Witcher (Season 2) also saw a large viewership with 484.3 million hours. 13 Reasons Why (Season 1) followed close behind with 475.6 million hours.

The limited series, Maid, about a young mother fleeing abuse, garnered 469.1 million hours in viewership. The psychological thriller, You (Season 3), had 467.8 million hours while You (Season 2) had 457.4 million hours. Stranger Things (Season 2) had 427.4 million hours and Money Heist (Part 3) had 426.4 million hours.

The British teen dramedy, Sex Education (Season 3), had 419 million hours and the dramedy about a young mom and kids, Ginny & Georgia (Season 1), had 381 million hours. The South Korean legal drama, Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Season 1), had 402.5 million hours in viewership.

The Colombian telenovela, Café con Aroma de Mujer (Season 1), had 326.9 million hours while the French heist show, Lupin (Part 1), had 316.8 million hours. The Spanish teen drama, Elite (Season 3), had 275.3 million hours in viewership.

The Mexican mystery thriller, Who Killed Sara? (Season 1), had 266.4 million hours while Elite (Season 4) had 257.1 million hours. The musical Colombian telenovela, The Queen of Flow (Season 2), had 230.3 million hours. Lupin (Part 2) had 214.1 million hours and Dark Desire (Season 1), a Mexican dramatic thriller, had 213 million hours in viewership.