Netflix has broken its traditional silence about its viewership numbers to release a list of the top 10 most-watched original films on its streaming service. This list, released in mid-July 2020, features theChris Hemsworth action movieExtractionat #1, followed by 2018’sBird Boxand2020’sSpenser Confidential.
Until recently, Netflix shared almost nothing about its viewer numbers with the public. What little information the streaming service shares is usually revealed as part of the company’s quarterly financial results, so it’s safe to assumethese numbers have been massageda bit. Netflix also counts anyone who keeps a movie running on the service for a full two minutes as a “viewer,” so there’s likely a gap between people who started one of these movies and who actually finished watching them.
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The top 10 list is as follows, from highest to lowest as measured by number of viewers:
The original list from Netflix was made before the release of the Charlize Theron action filmThe Old Guardon July 10, which was an immediate success on its debut weekend.If it reaches Netflix’s projectionsof 72 million viewers in its first month, it would hit this list at #6 and knockThe Perfect Dateto #11.
Netflix has continued to enjoy steady growth over the course of 2020. In its Q2 financial report, released on July 16th, it reported a total of 192.55 million paid memberships worldwide, which was an increase of just over 10 million from March, and of over 41 million compared to a year ago. In a letter to its shareholders, Netflix also reported that followingwork stoppages due to COVID-19earlier this year, it has restarted production on its original content, including a new season ofThe Naked Director,in countries such as Japan, Korea, France, and Germany.
Netflix’s next original film isWork It,acoming-of-age dance comedyproduced by Alicia Keys, scheduled to debut on August 7th.
