Anna Kendrick may be known for belting out tunes in the Pitch Perfect movies, but her directorial debut in the praised crime thriller Woman of the Hour proves she’s just as skillful behind the camera as she is in front of it. With Halloween just around the corner, it’s perfect timing for Netflix to add Kendrick’s serial killer flick into its library of titles. While the Oscar nominee's 2024 Netflix movie release is rightfully so the most popular Netflix film in the US right now, there’s another release from the streaming service that’s taking the Global Top 10 and it may shock you.
Woman of the Hour made a very strong debut on Netflix. As soon as the streaming movie premiered last week, it had a 91% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 69% from audiences. Critics also raved about Anna Kendrick’s “unsettling” directorial debut in successfully creating tension and its strong statement on sexism.
According to Netflix Tudum, the TIFF-premiered film is currently #1 for the Top 10 Netflix films in the US. In a surprising turn of events, however, there is one 2024 movie release that’s shockingly beating its spot in the Global Top 10 and it’s a romance film drama.
Lonely Planet is the latest sexy Netflix movie, and stars Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth who play a writer and a finance manager who meet in Morocco and find love within each other. For the past two weeks, the romance drama has been in the #1 spot for the streamer’s Global Top Ten with 21.9 million hours watched and 13.7 million views. Woman of the Hour falls just below with its #2 standing for the past week with 15.8 million hours watched and 9.9 million views. Other Netflix titles that follow behind include the documentary film Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, one of Netflix’s best crime shows The Menendez Brothers, and the 2016 animated musical Sing.
You would think Woman of the Hour would have a wide global audience considering the thriller has wowed critics and audiences more than Lonely Planet has. At the same time, I can understand why the Netflix romance film is #1 globally right now. As Laura Dern has been gracing audiences with her best movies since the ‘80s and ‘90s as well as her recent return to the Jurassic Park franchise, it’s no wonder long-time fans don’t want to miss out on her latest movie. Liam Hemsworth is also a fan favorite due to his big role in The Hunger Games franchise and will be replacing Henry Cavill in season four of The Witcher. It’s only natural for there to be a public interest in his upcoming projects. Plus, I would be really interested to see how the chemistry between the two leads plays out.
This isn’t the first time that romance movies have shockingly dominated the Top 10 spot. The superhero movie Madame Web sat pretty on Netflix’s US Top 10 back in May, but the rom-com Mother of the Bride beat the Dakota Johnson-led movie worldwide. In August, two rom-coms, Find Me Falling and Anyone But You, were crushing Netflix’s Top 10. It seems to me that even if we’re hitting the Spooky Season, audiences are still looking for a cozy feel-good movie to enjoy.
With Lonely Planet is sitting at the #1 spot on a global scale compared to US's Top Ten Netflix film Woman of the Hour, It proves that universally, audiences must be in the mood for love. Not to mention, seeing Liam Hemsworth and Laura Dern’s chemistry should be well worth the watch. You can watch both popular titles now on your Netflix subscription.
