Pictures: Netflix
It’s time for another look at the Netflix global top 10 numbers and stats and dive into the winners and losers of the past week. This week is a bumper issue where we’ll cover What Jennifer Did, Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp, Anthracite, Baby Reindeer, Heartbreak High, international films and series, and a new update on 3 Body Problem.
Note: In this report of Netflix’s hours viewed from April 8th, 2024 to April 14th, 2024, we’ll use “Complete Viewings Equivalent,” or CVE, expressed in millions. That means we divide the hours viewed announced by Netflix by the runtime of films or series. It allows for better comparisons between films and series, but it’s not an audience metric. It is the minimum number of viewings if they were all complete from the first second to the last of the film or season.
1. A lot of people want to know What Jennifer Did
I haven’t watched What Jennifer Did, so I don’t know what she did, but she at least succeeded in having people interested in her story.
The true crime documentary What Jennifer Did had a fantastic launch, with 18M CVEs over its first five days. That continues a great run for Raw TV, the production company behind the documentary, which also produced The Tinder Swindler at the number-one spot and, more recently, the record-breaking American Nightmare.
That’s the second best launch for a documentary released on a Wednesday, behind the ratings juggernaut that was The Tinder Swindler.
2. Woody Woodpecker goes to camp
Hailing from Universal, which decided it would probably be a better fit for Netflix than Peacock, the live-action/animated film Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp had a decent launch, with 11.8M CVEs over its first weekend.
That’s on par with Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, but it’s also quite impressive, as Netflix did not really market the film. But it did manage to find an audience just fine on the service, another reminder that advertising will only get you so far.
3. Some international films’ launches
Netflix opened the floodgates for international films last week, releasing three of them all on the same day. First off is the Swedish thriller/drama Stolen, which took the third-best launch for a Swedish Netflix film.
Then, we had a Spanish remake of a French romantic comedy, Love, Divided, which did a decent launch of 6.8M CVEs in three days, good enough to be in the Top 10 best launches for Spanish Netflix films.
Finally, a bit of a quiz for you: do you know the average CVE for the launch of an Indian Netflix film released on a Friday? The answer would be 2.4M CVEs, and guess what? That’s precisely what Amar Sinh Chamkila did, same as Bhakshak, Dhamaka, or Kathal – A Jackfruit Mystery.
4. Anthracite has a cool title but a lackluster launch
French thriller series Anthracite might have managed to feature in 50+ Top 10 worldwide after its release, its launch is just quite average with only 4.2M CVEs in its first five days, and the second best launch for a French Netflix series. This one won’t come near the all-time Top 10.
5. Baby Reindeer has a bad title and a lackluster launch too.
Baby Reindeer is Netflix’s latest British limited series. Like Ripley last week, it has been met with a fantastic reception from critics and the public (8.3/10 on IMDb at the time of writing).
However, that did not translate to a good opening, at least not yet, as the series launched with 2.6M CVEs, just a barely better than Ripley.
I won’t blame the marketing on this one, but its title and key art make it a very tough sell. It sounds like a children’s series about a Christmas reindeer released smackdown in the middle of April.
6. Heartbreak High is not breaking out.
Australian series Heartbreak High came back for a second season, and unlike the first season, it did manage to enter the weekly Top 10 upon release, which is good. However, its launch was very low, with only 2.3M CVEs. Now, it’s not an expensive series, and the first season did wonders over time, so it might work again with the second season.
7. Some international series’ launches.
Same as for international films, Netflix packed last week with new international titles on the series side. Let’s look briefly at the launch of the Colombian series The Hijacking of Flight 601, which did a muted launch of only 3.4M CVEs over its first five days. Its creators just signed an overall deal with Netflix.
Over in Europe, the Norwegian limited series Midsummer Night also did a muted launch of only 2.7M CVEs over its first four days, one of the worst openings for a European limited series released on a Thursday.
8. An update on 3 Body Problem
Ask, and you shall receive. Some of you asked for an update on how 3 Body Problem compared to various series after four weeks, and here’s how it looks when we compare it to “Resident Evil, 1899 (both canceled) and The Sandman (renewed and expensive).
So it still looks promising for a 3 Body Problem season 2 renewal. With that said, if a season 2 does happen, the numbers would have to be substantially better to hope for more.
That’s all for this week; feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.
Netflix Synopsis: "Across continents and decades, five brilliant friends make earth-shattering discoveries as the laws of science unravel and an existential threat emerges."
