‘Extraction,’ ‘Bird Box,’ ‘The Irishman’ Among Netflix’s Top 10 Most-Watched Original Film Debuts Ever

Chris Hemsworth-helmed action flick Extraction netted 99 million views in the first four weeks after its April 24 debut–a figure that officially makes it Netflix’s most popular original film yet, the company says.

Netflix has recently become more open about sharing viewership figures and lists of viewer-favorite films and TV shows. Continuing that trend, it has–for the first time–revealed its top ten most-watched original movies, ranked by number of views generated in the 28 days following their premiere.

A quick (but important) note before we get too deep: Earlier this year, Netflix made a major change to the way it counts views. Previously, a view was counted if a user watched at least 70% of a TV episode or movie. Under the new system, however, users only have to watch two minutes of an episode or film for it to count as a view. This single shift inflated Netflix’s overall number of views by 35%, according to the company. So, keep in mind that it’s possible the impressive viewership stats below include a fair few users who only tuned in for the requisite two minutes.

On Extraction’s heels is 2018 thriller Bird Box, one of the first films Netflix sent to theaters. That movie brought in 89 million views in its first month, Netflix told Bloomberg. Next up is Spenser Confidential (2020) with 85 million views, 6 Underground (2020) with 83 million, and Murder Mystery (2019) with 73 million.

Here’s all ten films and their viewership stats:

As Bloomberg notes, each of these films was released within the last three years, and the vast majority were released within the last year. Netflix’s originals seem to be gathering more attention as time goes on; aside from Bird Box, the most recent debuts are higher on the list, indicating consistently larger audiences are tuning in to the streamer’s house films.

Internal viewership figures like these are likely what has spurred Netflix to invest heavily in original films. After successfully charming iconic directors and going to bat for the Oscars in 2018, it went all-in on films in 2019. That year, it debuted 113 feature-length movies–more than any traditional Hollywood studio.

Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film division, told Bloomberg that its packed schedule isn’t going to slow down. “We want an impactful movie every two weeks,” he said. “For one person, that’s Extraction. For another, it’s The Wrong Missy.”