Netflix hits of 2019: from Murder Mystery and Stranger Things 3 to The Witcher and The Irishman, the most popular shows and films
- According to Netflix, its most popular* release was Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston comedy Murder Mystery. Popular measured by how many saw 2 minutes or more
- Stranger Things 3 was the streaming giant’s most popular show, while 6 Underground and Disney’s Incredibles 2 also made the top 10
When many people think of Netflix in 2019, especially during awards season, they probably think of movies like The Irishman and Marriage Story – prestigious titles with inescapable “for your consideration” ads, ecstatic reviews and social media chatter. Or they might think of shows such as Stranger Things and Russian Doll.
Surprised?
Before going any further, it’s important to define what Netflix means by “popular”, because the company has long been known for coyness when it comes to releasing viewership data for the shows and movies on its service.
For its New Year’s top 10 lists, Netflix calculated popularity based on how many people watched at least two minutes of a piece of content in its first 28 days of release, according to a person familiar with the methodology.
Yes, two minutes. That’s not a typo. If someone clicked on a Stranger Things episode because it was featured on the homepage and got about as far as the opening credits, that counts for Netflix’s popularity roundup. Think how YouTube counts views based on how many people start watching a video, not by how many finish.
This is different from how Netflix generally determines viewership. With its movies, for example, it’s a view if the person gets through 70 per cent of the run time. Netflix said 73 million households watched Murder Mystery in its first four weeks. In December, Netflix said The Irishman was watched by more than 26.4 million households in its first week.
So Netflix’s latest rankings don’t provide a reliable measure of success for its programming. But caveats aside, the list provides some interesting factoids, other than the ascendance of Murder Mystery.
Sci-fi series Stranger Things is second on the popularity index for its third season on Netflix, according to the company. Third place goes to another Netflix original, the Michael Bay action film 6 Underground, which was released on the service this month. (The movie hasn’t been out for 28 days yet, so its ranking is based on a projection. The same goes for other recent releases.)
However, in fourth place sits Pixar’s Incredibles 2 , which was released by its now biggest rival, Walt Disney.
One surprise on the service’s TV list: the final season of its acclaimed Orange is the New Black is nowhere to be found.
Here’s the company’s ranking of the most popular releases on its platform in 2019.
Overall
1. Murder Mystery
2. Stranger Things 3
3. 6 Underground
4. Incredibles 2
5. The Irishman
6. The Witcher
7. Triple Frontier
8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
10. The Highwaymen
Shows
1. Stranger Things 3
2. The Witcher
3. The Umbrella Academy
4. Dead to Me
5. You: Season 2
7. Unbelievable
8. Sex Education
9. 13 Reasons Why
10. Raising Dion
Movies
1. Murder Mystery
2. 6 Underground
3. The Incredibles 2
4. The Irishman
5. Triple Frontier
6. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
7. The Highwaymen
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
9. Ralph Breaks the Internet
10. Secret Obsession
