Since most of us are social distancing and staying in our residences in order to flatten that curve, keeping entertained is integral to staying sane. So naturally, plenty of people are turning to streaming movies and TV shows to pass the time, with Netflix naturally being a popular destination thanks to its mix of familiar favorites and ever-growing collection of original material.
If you’re a Netflix subscriber, then odds are you’ve streamed at least a couple Netflix original movies, if not a lot of them. But looking at the global picture, what are the Netflix cinematic offerings that are the most popular, that hordes of subscribers have turned out in force to check out in the comfort of their own homes? As it turns out, Bird Box, The Irishman and Roma are at the top of this particular list.
According to OLBG, Bird Box is the Netflix original movie favorite in 52 countries, with The Irishman being a favorite in 33 countries (including the United States) and Roma being a favorite in 32 countries. Triple Frontier and Death Note fell into 4th and 5th place, respectively.
With Roma coming out in late 2018, and both Bird Box and The Irishman arriving last year, it’s understandable why these three would rank as Netflix’s top three original movies worldwide. Both Roma and The Irishman were met with critical acclaim, including plenty of Oscar nominations, with Roma taking home wins in the Best Director, Best Cinematographer and Best Foreign Film. It should also be noted that when looking at each country’s favorite Netflix original overall, i.e. both movies and TV shows, Roma reigns supreme in Albania, Armenia and Mozambique.
As for Bird Box, while it was met with more mixed critical reception, it nonetheless collected a lot of views during its first weeks on Netflix, to the point that it was the platform’s most-watched movie of all time during its opening week. Let’s also not forget that Bird Box was popular enough to launch a blindfold challenge. Yes, it was just as misguided as it sounds, but it nonetheless goes to show how Bird Box pierced the cultural zeitgeist.
Of course, just because Bird Box, The Irishman and Roma are at the top of the popularity lists doesn’t mean other Netflix original movies are any slouches. For instance, despite being met with mostly negative critical reception, recent release Coffee & Kareem ranked at #3 on Netflix’s Top 10 earlier this week. And when opening the floor to non-Netflix originals, Blood Father and Badland were also getting a lot of views recently.
The film industry is in a weird place right now, and there’s still no clear time table on when movie theaters will start reopening. So for now, outside of one’s own movie collection, Netflix and other streaming sites are still your best bet for getting your fill of cinematic content. And hey, at least Netflix still has plenty of new original features on the way later this year, so it’s not like there’ll be a drought of fresh content.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news on Netflix’s many offerings and what it has coming up. You can also keep track of the theatrical side of the movies realm with our 2020 release schedule.
