Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos opened up about the streamer’s viewership at the Code Conference this week, a topic the platform has been notoriously tight-lipped about from the beginning. Sarandos told New York Times interviewer Kara Swisher that “We’re trying to be more transparent with talent, with the market.”
The Netflix CEO dropped some telling slides detailing viewership numbers from the streaming service’s top performers, which was led by the Shonda Rhimes period drama Bridgerton that exploded onto the screen last Christmas.
According to the data, Bridgerton is Netflix’s most-watched Original Series of all time, with 82 million accounts tuning in during the series’ first 28 days. It’s also the top engaged series with 625 million hours of viewing time in its first four weeks, beating out Stranger Things. (Side note, Netflix has significantly larger subscriber base now and at the time of Bridgerton’s debut than it did with the premieres of Stranger Things seasons 1-3.)
Lupin: Part 1 was the second most popular series in terms of the number of accounts watching the during the first 28 days, with 76 million. But it didn’t hold onto its appeal and missed ranking anywhere on the engagement top 10 list. The Witcher and Stranger Things 3 also ranked near the top on both lists, with Money Heist ranking No. 2 for engagement just behind Bridgerton with 619 million hours of viewing time.
Sandra Bullock’s thriller Bird Box was the most engaged feature clocking 282 million hours of viewership, followed by Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth. The two films swapped rankings in terms of initial viewership during their first 28 days with 99 million accounts clicking on Extraction and 89 million watching at least two minutes of Bird Box. Other movies that made the lists include Spenser Confidential, The Old Guard, and Army of the Dead.