Netflix’s Most Popular Shows and Movies, Ranked (According to Netflix)

Netflix, for years, was notoriously tight-lipped about its viewership. But after a few years of declining statistics for some of its programming, Netflix launched a website in mid-November displaying charts of its most popular shows and movies from the past week, as well as a global ranking of its most watched titles of all time.

The winners, updated every week and classified by total number of hours subscribers spent watching, represent an unprecedented wealth of data on what’s popular on Netflix. The site details the most popular titles of the past week, not only around the world, but also in over 90 countries. And it’s meant to help subscribers like you get a better sense of the biggest hits from the world’s biggest subscription streaming service, in hopes you’ll discover something new to watch.

The company updates its “Weekly Top 10 on Netflix” every Tuesday, based on the previous week’s Monday-Sunday viewing hours for original and licensed titles. The Netflix ranking is divided into top 10 rankings for English Movies, English TV, Non-English Language Movies, and Non-English Language TV.

A ranking of the most-watched titles of all time also lives on the site, detailing the shows that have the most viewing hours in their first 28 days of release. Netflix also divides them into English Movies, English TV, Non-English Language Movies, and Non-English Language TV – but for our charts below, we don’t distinguish between languages.

If a new season releases its two-part episodes on different dates, Netflix counts the watch time of the first volume episodes during their first 28 days, then it counts the watch time of the second volume episodes during their first 28 days. These all-time rankings are also updated every Tuesday, whenever programs hit the charts during the previous week.

Why you won’t (yet) see Glass Onion in the leaderboard

Shows and movies need sustained popularity in many countries to enter the most-watched charts of all time. That means you can see titles with “Top 10” badges in Netflix’s app for days, but they still might not generate enough watch hours to make the all-time chart.

For example, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the sequel to the 2019 thriller Knives Out, has generated 82.1 million hours in the first three days since its release on Friday. It still has a lot more time in its 28-day window to generate watch time. But movies need over 200 million streaming hours and TV shows need nearly half a billion hours to make the all-time list. Even the most popular shows and movies need several weeks and sustained attention to accumulate enough.

Netflix’s Most-Watched TV Series, Ranked

Here are Netflix’s most-watched series, based on Netflix’s own reports of total hours watched in the first 28 days of each title’s release. Again, if a new season releases its two-volume episodes on different dates, Netflix counts the watch time of the first volume episodes during their first 28 days, then it counts the watch time of the second volume episodes during their first 28 days.

Any change in ranking from the previous week is in bold.

1. squid game (season 1), a Korean survival thriller – 1.65 billion hours.
2. Stranger Things (season 4), a retro sci-fi series — 1.35 billion hours.
3. Wednesdaya supernatural dark comedy about coming of age – 1.24 billion hours
4. Dahmer, a true crime serial killer series – 856.2 million hours.
5. Money Heist (part 5), a thriller in Spanish — 792.2 million hours.
6. Bridgerton (Season 2), a period romance — 656.3 million hours. >
7. Bridgerton (season 1) – 625.5 million hours.
8. Money Heist (part 4) – 619 million hours.
9. Stranger Things (Season 3), a retro sci-fi series — 582.1 million hours.
10. Lucifer (Season 5), a police fantasy procedural – 569.5 million hours.
11. We’re All Dead, a Korean zombie thriller set in a high school – 560.8 million hours.
12. The Witcher (season 1), a fantasy series — 541 million hours.
13. Inventing Anna, a true crime limited series about a fake socialite – 511.9 million hours
14. 13 Reasons Why (Season 2), a controversial teen drama – 496.1 million hours.

Past top shows that were eliminated from Netflix’s official all-time charts:

• Ozark (season 4), a crime drama series — 491.1 million hours.
• The Witcher (Season 2) – 484.3 million hours.
• 13 Reasons Why (Season 1) – 475.6 million hours
• Maid, a limited series about a young mother fleeing violence – 469.1 million hours.
• You (season 3), a psychological thriller — 467.8 million hours.
• You (Season 2) — 457.4 million hours.
• Stranger Things (Season 2) – 427.4 million hours.
• Money Heist (part 3) – 426.4 million hours.
• Sex Education (Season 3), a British teen comedy-drama – 419 million hours.
• Ginny & Georgia (season 1), a comedy-drama about a young mother and her children – 381 million hours.
• Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Season 1), a South Korean legal drama — 402.5 million hours.
• Café con Aroma de Mujer (season 1), a Colombian telenovela – 326.9 million hours.
• Lupin (Part 1), a French heist show — 316.8 million hours.
• Elite (Season 3), a Spanish teen drama – 275.3 million hours.
• Who killed Sarah? (season 1), a Mexican mystery thriller – 266.4 million hours.
• Elite (Season 4) – 257.1 million hours.
• The Queen of Flow (Season 2), a Colombian musical telenovela – 230.3 million hours.
• Lupine (part 2) — 214.1 million hours.
• Dark Desire (season 1), a Mexican drama thriller – 213 million hours.

Netflix’s Most-Watched Movies, Ranked

Here are Netflix’s most-watched movies, based on Netflix’s own reports of total hours watched in the first 28 days of each title’s release. All changes are in bold.

1. Red Notice, an action movie starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds — 364 million hours.
2. Don’t Look Up, a dark comedy with an all-star cast – 359.8 million hours.
3. Bird Box, a post-apocalyptic film starring Sandra Bullock — 282 million hours.
4. The Gray Man, a CIA action thriller – 253.9 million hours.
5. The Adam Project, a sci-fi adventure comedy — 233.2 million hours.
6. Extraction, an action movie starring Chris Hemsworth — 231.3 million hours.
7. Purple Hearts, a romantic drama about a musician marrying a Marine – 228.7 million hours.
8. The Unforgivable, a drama about a woman rebuilding her life after prison – 214.7 million hours.
9. The Irishman, a period mob epic directed by Martin Scorsese – 214.6 million hours.
10. The Kissing Booth 2, a teen romantic comedy sequel – 209.3 million hours.

Former top movies that were eliminated from Netflix’s official all-time charts:

• 6 Underground, a Michael Bay explosion festival with Ryan Reynolds — 205.5 million hours.
• Spenser Confidential, an action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg — 197.3 million hours.
• Enola Holmes, a period detective film — 189.9 million hours.
• Army of the Dead, a heist set in a zombie apocalypse – 187 million hours.
• The Old Guard, an action thriller starring Charlize Theron – 186 million hours.
• Murder Mystery, a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston – 170 million hours.

Netflix seems to have never released a non-English language film that has generated enough viewing hours to make it into the overall most-watched rankings. But other widely watched non-English language films on Netflix have included:

• Trolla Norwegian monster film – 152.4 million hours.
• Blood Red Sky, a German-British action horror film set during a hijacking – 110.5 million hours.
• The Platform, a Spanish social commentary wrapped in a horror film – 108.1 million hours.
• All Quiet on the Western Front, a German war drama — 101.4 million hours.
• Black Crab, a Swedish apocalyptic war thriller starring Noomi Rapace — 94.1 million hours.
• Through My Window, a Spanish teen romance – 92.4 million hours.
• The Takedown, a French detective comedy — 78.6 million hours.
• Under Zero, a Spanish action thriller about an escape from a prison transport vehicle – 78.3 million hours.
• Loving Adults, a Danish thriller about an extramarital affair – 67.3 million hours.
• My name is Vendettaan Italian crime/action film — 67.3 million hours.

Highest-ranking former non-English films that were knocked out of the non-English top 10 include:

• Rogue City, a French action thriller about an unorthodox cop team – 66.6 million hours.
• Carter, a South Korean action thriller about a man who wakes up with no memories and a voice in his ear – 65.4 million hours
• The Forgotten Battle, a Dutch WWII film – 60.9 million hours.
• Restless, a French action thriller — 59.1 million hours.
• Lost Bullet, like a Fast & Furious movie but in French — 58.3 million hours
• Spoiled Brats, a French comedy about wealthy siblings made to earn a living – 56.9 million hours.
• #Alive, a South Korean film about a gamer’s attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse – 54.6 million hours.
• Space Sweepers, a South Korean space western with a weaponized child-android – 53.3 million hours
• The Last Mercenary, a French action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme — 52.1 million hours.
• Just Another Christmas, a Brazilian Christmas comedy – 48 million hours.