Every Viewing Statistic Netflix Has Released So Far (April 2020)
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Every Viewing Statistic Netflix Has Released So Far (April 2020)

Welcome to the biggest ongoing post we’ve ever had to put together here at What’s on Netflix. Over the years, Netflix has released selective small snapshots into its viewership. Here’s the definitive list of every Netflix viewership statistic released so far.

With the new age of streaming, viewership metrics have gone by the wayside. Instead, we get selective “datecdotes” (a phrase coined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy) that gives us a glimpse into the overall viewing figures of certain titles. Netflix is by far the best when it comes to releasing metrics and has promised to do better in reporting numbers to us, the viewing public and the producers of shows and movies.

Amazon only gives some insights such as the insight into the success of The Boys by saying “We are thrilled that ‘The Boys’ has surpassed our predictions for viewing in its first two weeks, and has become one of our most-watched Amazon Original series by our Prime Video customers,”.

Netflix’s selective numbers are often criticized by others in the industry. FX’s John Landgraf famously said that Netflix “isn’t telling you the whole story”. It should be noted most viewing numbers get released alongside quarterly earnings reports which are designed for investors and ultimately, making Netflix look successful.

Top 10 Most Watched Netflix Originals

In terms of the top 8 most-watched titles in Netflix history, here they are:

  1. Spenser Confidential – 85 million views*
  2. 6 Underground – 83 million views*
  3. Bird Box – 80 million views
  4. Murder Mystery – 73 million views
  5. The Witcher – 72 million views*
  6. Money Heist (Season 4) – 65 million views*
  7. Tiger King (Limited Series) – 64 million views*
  8. You (Season 2) – 54 million views*
  9. Triple Frontier – 52 million views
  10. The Perfect Date – 48 million views
  11. Tall Girl – 41 million views

Those marked with a * uses Netflix’s new metric system. 

Without further ado, here’s a list of every metric Netflix has announced so far which we’ll keep updated over time.

How does Netflix measure viewership? Up until 2020, Netflix’s viewership figures in the past counted where a user watched 70% of the movie/series. Now, viewership counts if someone watches 2 minutes of a title. It did offer up a comparison between the new and old metric which allows us to do an adjusted viewership rate although there are major caveats to that.

Note: the list is done in descending date order of when the title released on Netflix. You can find the underlying datasheet here.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: March 6th, 2020
Statistic Announced: April 21st, 2020
Number of viewers: ~64,000,000

The year is 2020 and there are two things you can’t stop hearing about. The coronavirus and the Tiger King.

This documentary took the world by storm but that’s not necessarily reflected in the viewing figures. That’s not giving Tiger King its due though, it’s still the most-watched docu-series on Netflix.

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Money Heist (Part 4)

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: April 3rd, 2020
Statistic Announced: April 21st, 2020
Number of viewers: ~65,000,000 (projected)

The Spanish series continues to be Netflix’s darling series as it racks up an impressive 65M projected views around the globe.

Adjusted to the pre-2 minute metric, its pulled in about as much the same as Money Heist part 3 but that’s likely not a fair comparison.

Love Is Blind

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: February 13th, 2020
Statistic Announced: April 21st, 2020
Number of viewers: ~30,000,000

Love is Blind sets a new benchmark for reality TV series on Netflix as it’s the first metric we’ve had from the genre.

Spenser Confidential

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: March 6th, 2020
Statistic Announced: April 21st, 2020
Number of viewers: ~85,000,000

Spenser Confidential beat the likes of 6 Underground in becoming the biggest movie based on the new metrics. At an adjusted rate, however, Bird Box still comes in flying high. The adjust rate is around 58.5M.

Still, it was one of the biggest touted movies for Netflix in Q1 with Mark Wahlberg playing a leading role.

Ozark (Season 3)

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: March 27th, 2020
Statistic Announced: April 21th, 2020
Number of viewers: ~29,000,000

This is the first time we’ve been given a glimpse into the streaming numbers for Ozark.

The excellent drama is often compared to Breaking Bad and is easily one of the shining jewels in the Netflix Original drama crown.

This number translates into one of the biggest shows for Netflix given it can command such as a strong number in its third season. It beats Stranger Things S3 (although that’s based on the old metric) although it’s 5 million shy of Money Heist’s third season.

Airplane Mode

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: January 23rd, 2020
Statistic Announced: February 28th, 2020
Number of viewers: ~28,000,000

In February 2020, Netflix announced that the Portuguese movie, Airplane Mode is the most popular non-English movie the streamer has produced thus far.

https://twitter.com/NetflixFilm/status/1233171332457623552

A Fall From Grace

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: January 17th, 2020
Statistic Announced: February 3rd, 2020
Number of viewers: ~26,000,000

Tyler Perry’s A Fall From Grace was a thriller movie that quietly dropped on Netflix in the first month of the year.

Promotion for this title was nowhere near the level of some of the other titles on this list so it demonstrates how a title can do well purely based on word of mouth and the famous algorithm.

It got massive views despite having some awful reviews particularly from critics where it sits at 34/100.

The Witcher (Season 1)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: December 20th, 2019
Metric Announced: January 20th, 2020
Number of viewers: ~72,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 43.09%

Based on the novel series and video game of the same name, we knew The Witcher was going to be big from the early days. Each of the trailers consistently was the highest viewed on Netflix’s YouTube channel and people were looking for their next Game of Thrones fix.

When Netflix released this stat (which saw the series added to the top 5 most-watched titles in Netflix history) it also noted how the book series also was struggling to keep up with the new demand.

6 Underground

Type: Movies
Released on Netflix: December 20th, 2019
Metric Announced: January 20th, 2020
Number of viewers: ~83,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 49.67%

Despite relatively mediocre reviews, the movie was sure to be a big numbers hit given the fact it combines Ryan Reynolds with explosions all wrapped up in an easy to digest format.

This metric covers the first four weeks of viewing.

You (Season 2)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: December 26th, 2019
Metric Announced: January 20th, 2020
Number of viewers: ~54,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 32.32%

12 million more people watched season 2 of You than season 1 in its first four weeks which shows the series has the legs to keep audiences interested and has attracted more viewers long after the initial release of You.

It’s worth noting that only several weeks of data were available to Netflix and this number is based on their estimates.

The Crown (Season 3)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: November 17th, 2019
Metric Announced: January 20th, 2020
Number of viewers: ~21,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 12.57%

Netflix’s golden series The Crown which covers the life of Queen Elizabeth finally got some stats revealed in early 2020. The shows statistics had previously not been known.

Additional viewership insights were also provided. This includes the fact 73 million people in total have chosen to watch at least one episode of The Crown. It also revealed that viewership of season 3 was 40% up over season 2.

Note: All the titles listed below are on Netflix’s old metric where Netflix measured based on the percentage of title watched as opposed to 2 minutes. 

Klaus

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: November 11th, 2019
Metric announced: December 19th, 2019
Number of viewers: ~30,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: ~18.95%

It’s a personal pleasure to see Klaus doing well. The animated holiday movie is spectacularly animated and we’ve heard was passed on by multiple studios. At least for us, it’s going to be a yearly tradition diving into the movie. It’s worth noting the 30 million number is technically at the top end and the stat covers the first month, not the first 7 days.

Beyond a Nielson number for The Christmas Chronicles (which appears to have had more viewers than Klaus), this is the first metric Netflix has released for a Christmas title.

The Irishman

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: November 27th, 2019
Metric announced: December 10th, 2019
Number of viewers: 26,404,081
Percentage of Subscribers: 16.68%

Netflix spent hundreds of millions on The Irishman which looks to be its best chance yet at getting its first movie Oscar.

Speculation as to whether The Irishman would have its stats revealed have been ongoing for weeks given the size of the project.

Given the length, that’s an extraordinary number given that you have to watch 70% of the movie to be considered within that number.

Street Flow

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: October 11th, 2019
Metric announced: October 23rd, 2019
Number of viewers: 2,600,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 1.64%

This French movie released in October 2019 proves that Netflix is making a dent in individual countries. The movie may seem like it had low viewership but when you consider Netflix France has 6 million subs total, that’s nearly half of subscribers in the region.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: October 11th, 2019
Metric announced: October 23rd, 2019
Number of viewers: 25,734,392
Percentage of Subscribers: 16.25%

The movie follow-up to the end of the Breaking Bad series scored big with Netflix. The number reflects the first week of viewing and worldwide.

Tall Girl

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: September 13th, 2019
Metric announced: September 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 41,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 25.9%

Tall Girl is a romantic comedy (one of the many you’ll notice on this list) that scored well with the younger generation. It had a huge social media presence particularly on the likes of Snapchat and TikTok. The figure reflects the first 28 days of viewing worldwide.

Unbelievable (Limited Series)

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: September 13th, 2019
Metric announced: September 16th, 2019
Number of viewers: 32,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 20.21%

The incredibly produced limited series caught a lot of attention particularly thanks to its first episode. The number reflects its first 28 days (first month) on Netflix worldwide.

Money Heist (Season 3)

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: July 17th, 2019
Metric announced: August 2nd, 2019
Number of viewers: ~44,000,000 (34,355,956 first week)
Percentage of Subscribers: 21.7%

The huge Spanish series grew season after season and notably has a large following in non-Spanish speaking countries. Money Heist is Netflix’s biggest non-English series on Netflix. The number accounts for the first week globally.

Kidnapping Stella

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: July 12th, 2019
Metric announced: August 20th, 2019
Number of viewers: 18,895,873
Percentage of Subscribers: 11.93%

German thriller movie which to our knowledge is the first metric released for a non-English movie on Netflix.

Stranger Things (Season 3)

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: July 4th, 2019
Metric announced: July 11th, 2019
Number of viewers: 26,400,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 16.67%

This was Netflix’s biggest series launch to date. Over 26 million watched over the first weekend the series was available to stream.

Murder Mystery

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: July 4th, 2019
Metric announced: July 11th, 2019
Number of viewers: 73,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 48.17%

The Adam Sandler movie which was his best performing one on Netflix to date. In the first three days, 13.4 million views came from accounts in the US and Canada and 17.5 million worldwide. 73 million households in total watched Murder Mystery in the first month.

Murder Mystery – Adam Sandler’s biggest Netflix movie to date

Always Be My Maybe

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: May 31st, 2019
Metric announced: July 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 32,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 20.21%

The Ali Wong and Randall Park comedy could likely attribute some of its success thanks to the memes surrounding the cameo of Keanu Reeves. Never the less, it’s another popular romantic comedy that saw nearly 1 in 5 subscribers at the time watch. The figure represents the first months worth of viewing.

When They See Us (Limited Series)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: May 31st, 2019
Metric announced: July 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 25,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 15.79%

Ava Duvernay’s groundbreaking limited series about the Central Park Five scored big with audiences when it released in May 2019. The number above represents the first month of figures. We should also note Netflix said “most-watched series in the U.S. every day since through at least June 12”.

When They See Us – Netflix Limited Series

Dead To Me (Season 1)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: May 3rd, 2019
Metric announced: July 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 30,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 18.95%

The debut black comedy series starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini struck a chord early on with Netflix watchers around the world.  The 30 million figure refers to the first month of households globally.

The Perfect Date

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: April 12th, 2019
Metric announced: July 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 48,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 30.32%

Noah Centineo has been in quite a few of Netflix’s big romantic comedy movies aimed at teens and there’s a good reason too. The Perfect Date was a huge rating draw which almost 50 million people watching the movie in the first month of release.

Our Planet (Limited Series)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: April 5th, 2019
Metric announced: July 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 33,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 20.84%

Netflix’s first big foray into the nature docuseries genre started in April 2019 and based on the fact a fifth of Netflix’s subscriber base watched it worldwide within a month, you could say it went quite well.

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The Highwaymen

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: March 29th, 2019
Metric announced: April 16th, 2019
Number of viewers: 40,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 26.39%

Despite mixed reviews, this period biographical drama still scored over 40 million viewers. At the time, that was almost a quarter of the entire subscriber base in the first month.

Triple Frontier

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: March 13th, 2019
Metric announced: April 16th, 2019
Number of viewers: 52,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 34.31%

Worldwide and viewing figures for the first 30 days. The action hit for Netflix featured an all-star cast and is currently, according to the released metrics at least, the third most-watched movie.

Umbrella Academy (Season 1)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: February 15th, 2019
Metric announced: April 16th, 2019
Number of viewers: 45,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 29.69%

Up until Umbrella Academy, Netflix’s superhero series output was entirely reliant on Marvel. Umbrella Academy’s sweeping success proves that Netflix can promote superhero content that isn’t from Marvel or DC. This figure was the first month of viewing.

Sex Education (Season 1)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: January 11th, 2019
Metric announced: January 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 40,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 28.72%

This surprising series quickly found a global audience a month into airing with its fantastic cast and quirky storyline.

You (Season 1)

Type: Series
Released on Netflix: December 26th, 2019
Metric announced: January 17th, 2019
Number of viewers: 40,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 28.72%

The show’s huge rise in viewership demonstrates the power of Netflix compared to its network counterparts. In fact, the NYTimes solely attributed the success of the show thanks to the power of the platform.

Bird Box

Type: Movie
Released on Netflix: December 21st, 2018
Metric announced: December 30th, 2018
Number of viewers: 70,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 57.45%

Bird Box, to date, is Netflix’s best performing movie or TV series to date. It’s no surprise either. The entire month of December and January 2019 was just full of Bird Box memes and press.

Elite (Season 1)

Type: TV Series
Released on Netflix: October 5th, 2018
Metric announced: January 17th, 2018
Number of viewers: 20,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 14.36%

The second Spanish series on this list was a huge hit in Spanish language countries but much like Money Heist has translated well into other regions of Netflix too.

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened

Type: Documentary
Released on Netflix: September 18th, 2018
Metric announced: January 17th, 2018
Number of viewers: 20,000,000
Percentage of Subscribers: 14.36%

With the exception of Orange is the New Black, the Fyre Festival documentary is the oldest title on Netflix list and represents the first title Netflix released its vague viewing stats for.

If you’d like to see our full spreadsheet of figures, please refer to our Google Docs here.

The only title we haven’t included above is the fact that Orange is the New Black was announced to have been started by 105 million accounts. That roughly represents every 2 in 3 people with a Netflix account.

Some of the earliest anecdotal data evidence came in April 2013 when Reed Hastings noted that Hemlock Grove’s viewership was higher than House of Cards.

If you’re looking for some more analysis on some of the more recent viewing stats and how to read into them, the Entertainment Strategy Guy has you covered.

More viewership data released by Netflix (Non-specific programming)

In 2018, Netflix’s film account released some interesting snippets of information regarding its movie library. In May 2018, it noted that 33 Netflix Original movies had been released which were watched over 300 million times by 80 million accounts. At the time, Netflix reports that it had 124.35 million accounts during Q2 2018.

What does this mean? 65% of all Netflix accounts by mid-2018 had watched a Netflix branded film.

In addition, it noted that 80 million accounts had watched a romance film on Netflix (original and non-original)

In January 2020, Netflix revealed that its users had watched 2 billion hours of Adam Sandler content on Netflix.

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