Pictures via Netflix – Illustration by What’s on Netflix
With 2024 in the books, it’s time for a deep dive into the numbers to find out what the most watched Netflix Original movies, series, and documentaries of the year were.
This is an abbreviated version of a two-part series (with a paid download with a complete breakdown of Netflix’s 2024 viewing figures) available on the Netflix & Chiffres Substack. That version includes library stats and the most-liked series and movies of 2024. This is the follow-up to our July 2024 post looking at the biggest hits and misses of the year’s first half.
For this deep dive, we’ll be using the measure of Complete Viewings Equivalent (CVEs or views as Netflix dubs it), calculated by dividing the viewing hours announced weekly by Netflix by the runtime of the respective films and series. Unless otherwise specified, this list only looks at the stats based on their first 14 full days of availability. These two methodological precautions allow for an equal comparison of programs with different runtimes released on other days of the week.
Note: Any number marked with an asterisk indicates the number is an estimation. TV titles marked in green indicate they’ve been renewed. Titles in black indicate the final season or limited series.
Most Watched English Language Netflix Movies of 2024
- Carry-On (118.2M)
- Damsel (99.1M)
- The Union (85.1M)
- Rebel Ridge (80.9M)
- Lift (80.5M)
- Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (66.6M)
- A Family Affair (66.5M)
- Atlas (66M)
- Our Little Secret (59.8M)
- Trigger Warning (57.7M)
Last year, a film released in December took the top spot in the annual Top 10. This year, it’s the action thriller Carry-On, produced by Amblin for Netflix. The film scored over 118M CVEs in its first 14 days. Behind that, we find a bit of a vertical slice of what Netflix did under the Scott Stuber era, namely action films aimed at a broad audience with strong casts, such as Damsel, The Union, Lift, Atlas, and Trigger Warning, but also romantic comedies like A Family Affair and Our Little Secret, as well as auteur films (again, geared toward a broad audience) like Rebel Ridge by Jeremy Saulnier.
Only one sequel makes it into this Top 10, the 4th installment of Axel Foley’s adventures in Beverly Hills Cop, in a position that seems somewhat disappointing considering its cast and legacy. Another big disappointment of the year that didn’t make it into the Top 10 is the sequel to Rebel Moon by Zack Snyder, which had a very poor year at Netflix. Even the Director’s Cut versions of both Rebel Moon films didn’t break into the Netflix Top 10 when they were released in August. The franchise seems dead, despite Snyder’s recent statements claiming he’s working on a third film. Nothing’s stopping him, but it’s unlikely Netflix will finance it.
The last big disappointment for Netflix this year is animation films, as neither Spellbound, Orion and the Dark, nor Thelma the Unicorn really found success. There was a modest success with That Christmas toward the end of the year, but not enough to make it into the Top 10. On the international animation side (i.e., Asian animation), it’s even worse, with very few films even making it into the weekly Top 10. It’s definitely one of the weakest years for the genre in Netflix’s history.
Most Watched International Netflix Movies of 2024
- Under Paris (73.8M) – France
- Society of the Snow (57.8M) – Spain
- The Platform 2 (36.9M) – Spain
- Colors of Evil: Red (36.6M) – Poland
- Badland Hunters (36.5M) – South Korea
- The Tearsmith (36.4M) – Italy
- The Abyss (34.2M) – Norway
- The Wages of Fear (33.4M) – France
- Family Pack (31.6M) – France
- Vanished into the Night (31.3M) – Italy
If one trend stands out in 2024, it’s that international successes rival English-language films in viewership, as the top two films in the international Top 10 could have easily made it into the English-language Top 10. First and foremost, the hit of the year, Under Paris, takes the lead with 73.8M CVEs in its first 14 days, enough to make it the 6th most-watched Netflix film of the year across all categories.
Behind that, JA Bayona has achieved something rare: both critical and commercial success with his Society of the Snow. The sequel to The Platform underperformed a bit compared to the success of the first film, but French films performed well, as did Italian films, in a Top 10 largely dominated by Europe, with only one title outside this geographical area—Badland Hunters from South Korea. However, the country will have its moment of glory later in a future category.
No films from Latin America or Africa are in the Top 10, though they’ve achieved decent scores in the English-language Top 10, not near the top. India also seems to be lagging again, considering its potential and the number of films Netflix India has released.
Most Watched Debut English Series of 2024
- Fool Me Once (61M)
- The Perfect Couple (47.4M)
- Griselda (46.3M)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (45.7M)
- The Gentlemen (37.8M)
- Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (37.8M)
- Nobody Wants This (30.8M)
- 3 Body Problem (30.7M)
- Black Doves (28.8M)
- The Madness (25.4M)
It’s been a pretty good year for Netflix’s English-speaking series, with many strong successes, though no new series has truly blown up. It’s solid, not extraordinary, with one number-one series that absolutely no one would have bet on this year, namely the adaptation of Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben. This isn’t the first series adapted from Harlan Coben’s work, but this one really hit it big, though we don’t quite know why. It was released on January 1, 2024, and has dominated all year long without any other new series managing to dislodge it.
In the Top 10, 5 series were renewed for additional seasons (marked as green in the graphic above), while the other 5 were mini-series. The trend toward mini-series is also on the rise this year, with now more than one out of every three U.S. series being a mini-series, a record since Netflix’s early days with original programming.
You might ask, “But where is Baby Reindeer in this Top 10?” and that’s a valid question given the hype around the series when it was released in March. However, this series is quite unique in that it only really took off around its third week. This means that in my ranking based on the first 14 days, it’s only 11th (which is still good), but if I had used a ranking based on the first 28 days, it would be 2nd, behind Fool Me Once and ahead of The Perfect Couple.
Most Watched Returning English Series of 2024
- Bridgerton Season 3a (76.1M up from previous seasons)
- Emily in Paris Season 4a (38.2M down from previous seasons)
- Cobra Kai Season 6a (26.4M down)
- Outer Banks Season 4a (26.3M down)
- Virgin River Season 6 (19.7M down)
- The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 (17.9M up)
- The Umbrella Academy Season 4 (17.8M down)
- Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 (13.4M down)
- The Diplomat Season 2 (13M down)
- Sweet Tooth Season 3 (12.9M down)
Among the English-speaking series returning last year, there was Bridgerton and everything else, since the second returning series, Emily in Paris, only achieved half the score of Shonda Rhimes’ series.
The third season of Bridgerton also achieved a small feat by outperforming its previous season, a distinction only matched by The Lincoln Lawyer in the Top 10 (and we’re still waiting to find out whether it will be renewed for a fourth season). Outer Banks experienced a slight decline, which led to its renewal for a final season, just like The Diplomat, whose upcoming third season is also expected to be its last.
Most Watched Debut International Series of 2024
- La Palma (43.9M) – Norway
- The Accident (24.5M) – Mexico
- The Asunta Case (20.7M) – Spain
- Deceitful Love (19.3M) – Italy
- Raising Voices (18.9M) – Spain
- Parasyte: The Grey (18.7M) – South Korea
- The Cage (15.2M) – France
- The Signal (13.2M) – Germany
- Furies (12.8M) – France
- Breathless (12.2M) – Spain
On the international series side, the trend also clearly leaned toward mini-series, with 7 mini-series in the Top 10, including the main success of 2024, the Norwegian series La Palma, which garnered nearly double the views of the second most-watched new international series. “Exotic destination” + monsters/natural disaster is generally a winning combo on Netflix.
Among the three series that are not mini-series, a little French pride is in order, as The Cage and Furies are the two most-watched of the year, and both have been renewed, along with the Spanish series Breathless, which completes this Top 10.
Most Watched Returning International Series of 2024
- Squid Game Season 2 (140M* up from the previous season) – South Korea
- The Empress Season 2 (13.2M down) – Germany
- GyeongSeong Creature Season 2 (7.8M down) – South Korea
- Elite Season 8 (7.6M down) – Spain
- Wrong Side of the Tracks Season 3 (6.9M down) – Spain
- The Manny Season 2 (6.4M down) – Mexico
- Another Self Season 2 (6.1M down) – Turkey
- Sweet Home Season 3 (6.1M down) – South Korea
- Good Morning, Veronica Season 3 (5.8M* equal) – Brazil
- Hellbound Season 2 (5.1M* down) – South Korea
It’s impossible not to mention the tidal wave that is season 2 of Squid Game, which stands as a giant among other international series, with nearly ten times more viewership than the second season in the ranking.
I can already see Netflix touting this global success to talk about international hits, but caution is needed, as the numbers behind it are relatively low and, notably, showing a sharp decline. For example, season 2 of Hellbound lost nearly 70% of its audience compared to its first season. Squid Game is thus the tree that hides the forest of international series that struggle to reignite the spark and are losing viewership season after season. Last year, this was very noticeable with Lupin, and it’s even more evident this year. Apart from Squid Game, the reigning series on Netflix, there are many uncertainties around the titles in this Top 10. Apart from Squid Game, which will return for a final season, and Wrong Side of the Tracks, which has been renewed (but is a co-production), as of the time I’m writing, we have no news about the fate of series like The Empress or Another Self.
Most Watched Netflix Animation Series of 2024
- Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season 1 (10.2M*)
- CoComelon Season 10 (9.8M)
- Bad Dinosaurs (7.6M)
- Hot Wheels Let’s Race (7.3M)
- Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season 2 (6M*)
- Gabby’s Dollhouse Season 10 (4.9M)
- Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance (4.9M*)
- Sonic Prime Season 3 (4.4M*)
- Exploding Kittens (4.1M*)
- The Fairly Odd Parents!: A New Wish (4M*)
There’s a common theme for the most-watched animated series in 2024. They all come from existing and familiar universes whether that’s Jurassic World, CoComelon, Hot Wheels, Sonic, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Exploding Kittens, and The Fairly OddParents.
The only exception is Bad Dinosaurs, whose creators have stated that Netflix chose not to order new episodes after the initial season order despite the relatively good numbers for the animated series. One can understand why they are questioning this decision…
However, a well-known license doesn’t guarantee success, as seen with the flops, which also include familiar names like Tomb Raider: Legend of Lara Croft, The Dragon Prince, Good Times (a reboot of an American live-action series), or even Barbie Mysteries and Zack Snyder’s Twilight of the Gods.
Most Watched Weekly and Binged Released Reality TV Series of 2024
- Love is Blind Season 6 (20.4M)
- Perfect Match Season 2 (12.9M)
- Love is Blind Season 7 (12.5M)
- Culinary Class Wars (10.1M)
- Love is Blind: UK (9.2M)
- Physical: 100 Season 2 (8.3M)
- The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On Season 3 (7.5M)
- Too Hot To Handle Season 6 (6.9M)
- Outlast Season 2 (5.2M)
- The Mole Season 2 (4.8M)
2024 was the year of confirmation that for its reality TV shows, Netflix is increasingly opting for a weekly release schedule spread over 3 or 4 weeks, although it still releases some in a binge format. I’ve, therefore, created a separate ranking. In the weekly shows category, the unstoppable Love is Blind occupies 3 of the top 5 spots.
It’s worth noting that South Korea has a new reality TV hit with the culinary show Culinary Class Wars, which has achieved excellent ratings. However, there’s a likely drop in store for season 2, as was the case with the other South Korean show Physical: 100, which lost nearly 50% of its audience between its first and second seasons.
Finally, moving on to the binge releases, there were almost no major hits. Selling Sunset still did the job with its eighth season, but it’s losing viewers with each new season, so the end is likely in sight.
- Selling Sunset Season 8 (8.6M)
- Is It Cake: Holiday (7.3M*)
- Love on the Spectrum US Season 2 (6.2M*)
- Selling the OC Season 3 (5.7M*)
- I Am Gerogina Season 3 (5.5M)
- Owning Manhattan (5M*)
- Is It Cake? Season 3 (4.4M*)
- Buying Beverly Hills Season 2 (4M*)
- The Later Daters (3.7M*)
- Love is Blind: Habibi (3.4M*)
Most Watched Documentaries on Netflix in 2024
See also our list of the most popular documentaries and docuseries in 2024.
- What Jennifer Did (36.5M)
- The Menendez Brothers (29.6M)
- Lover Stalker Killer (27.5M)
- The Lost Children (17.8M)
- Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (17.3M*)
- The Greatest Night in Pop (17M)
- Einstein and the Bomb (16.9M*)
- Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare (14.8M*)
- Jailbreak: Love on the Run (14.5M*)
- Martha (13.1M*)
True crime, true crime, true crime. The years pass, but the formula remains: True crime continues to be the driving force behind the most successful documentaries on Netflix. The top five documentaries on the list are all true crime, and seven of the top ten are true crime.
History and music also made their mark, and perhaps more surprisingly, the documentary on Martha Stewart’s life also made the annual Top 10.
Most Watched Documentary Series on Netflix in 2024
- American Nightmare (36.5M)
- American Murder: Laci Paterson (24.5M)
- Testament: The Story of Moses (20M)
- Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey (18M)
- Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal (16.8M)
- Worst Ex Ever (16.8M)
- Dancing For The Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (16.5M)
- This Is The Zodiac Speaking (13.9M)
- The Man With 1000 Kids (12.9M*)
- Homicide New York (12.2M*)
As with documentaries, true crime reigns supreme among the most-watched docuseries, with a religious docuseries (which is likely not to be the last of its kind) also making its mark.
Article contains contributions and edits from Kasey Moore.
What did you think about Netflix’s 2024 slate? Let us know in the comments down below.
