Subscribers to Netflix love such original thrillers as Carry-On and Rebel Ridge, it seems, with the films receiving even higher viewing numbers than Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
Netflix has released its viewership figures for the second half of 2024, and they provide a (possibly) interesting bit of insight into its subscribers’ tastes.
The most obvious take-away is that Netflix customers really like their thrillers; festive airport nailbiter Carry-On, starring Taron Edgerton, continues to be one of the most successful original films the streaming firm has released in years. Despite releasing right at the end of last year, it was still the platform’s most-watched movie with 137.3m views.
In January, Carry-On was Netflix’s fifth most-watched movie of all time. A few weeks on, and it’s climbed to the third position with a total of 169.2m views, placing it just behind Don’t Look Up (171.4m) and Red Notice (230.9m). Releasing a high-concept, Die Hard-esque thriller just in time for the Christmas break was, it turns out, a canny strategy.
What’s also noteworthy about Netflix’s film numbers is that, although the belated cop thriller Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F racked up plenty of views in the second half of 2024 (97.1m to be precise), it was beaten quite soundly by the aforementioned Carry-On, Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry thriller The Union (131.1m) and Rebel Ridge (129m).
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a thriller that continues an ageing but recognisable franchise, features a major star (Eddie Murphy) and a sizeable budget (around $150m). Netflix also gave it a decent marketing push when it launched last July.
Rebel Ridge, by contrast, cost considerably less (about $41m) and was led by a relative newcomer, Aaron Pierre, who stepped in after John Boyega abruptly left the production. It was also placed on Netflix in September 2024 with relatively little fanfare, meaning its success was largely thanks to positive word of mouth. (We would say its positive reviews helped, but then, poor critical notices didn’t appear to hurt The Union…)
It’ll surely be a boost for director Jeremy Saulnier, who previously admitted that the production on Rebel Ridge wasn’t exactly easy. And if there’s any justice, it’ll encourage Netflix to back more mid-budget, superbly-crafted genre films of its type.
Elsewhere in Netflix numbers, Squid Game season 2 was, unsurprisingly, the big story of 2024’s second half, with 86.5m views. Behind it was The Perfect Couple (75.1m), depressing true crime series Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (69.7m) and Emily In Paris: season 4.
As pointed out by Variety, non-English language shows account for a third of all viewing on Netflix, with other hits including La Palma from Norway, The Accident from Mexico and Family Pack from France.
If these numbers are any gauge, we can expect more diverse shows from overseas on the platform in the months and years to come. And, we’re hoping, more movies from Jeremy Saulnier.
