During an earnings call on Wednesday, Netflix announced that the third season of Stranger Things amassed 64 million viewers after its July 4 premiere.
The streaming service has been notoriously cagey about data in the past, but since last fall, the company has revealed more information about how viewership numbers are calculated and dolled out.
Netflix counts anyone who’s watched 70% of a single episode within four weeks of a series’ premiere as a “viewer” of that show. That means if a Netflix subscriber checks out the first episode and decides not to continue, they count. For movies, Netflix employs a similar percentage: watch 70% of Bird Box and you’re now a certified statistic. Netflix’s data collection has earned it some skepticism, especially from creators on the platform, and while the company is getting more transparent, it’s still only revealing numbers for certain shows and movies.
With a year of Netflix viewer numbers in the bag — at least, numbers that Netflix revealed — The New York Times compiled top ten lists of what Netflix says are its most viewed shows and movies.
Television Shows:
- Stranger Things (64 million)
- Umbrella Academy (45 million)
- La Casa de Papel (44 million)
- You (40 million)
- Sex Education (40 million)
- Our Planet (33 million)
- Unbelievable (32 million)
- Dead to Me (30 million)
- When They See Us (25 million)
- Elite (20 million)
It’s no surprise that Stranger Things takes the lead here (by almost 20 million), with the highly popular Umbrella Academy snagging the second spot. Netflix’s strength in the international market is evident with Spanish dramas La Case de Papel and Elite. The genres run the gamut: When They See Us and Unbelievable, both dramatic adaptations of true events, rank with the comedic Sex Education and Dead to Me.
Movies:
- Bird Box (80 million)
- Murder Mystery (73 million)
- Triple Frontier (52 million)
- The Perfect Date (48 million)
- Tall Girl (41 million)
- The Highwaymen (40 million)
- Secret Obsession (40 million)
- Always Be My Maybe (32 million)
- Otherhood (29 million)
- Fyre (20 million)
Bird Box, last winter’s surprise hit, leads the charge here, followed by Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s recent comedy. The list is full of romantic-comedies, with The Perfect Date, Tall Girl, and Always Be My Maybe, showcasing Netflix’s push into the genre. Rounding out the list is Fyre, the documentary about the disastrous Fyre Festival that landed the same week as Hulu’s Fyre Fraud.