The streamer's new viewing data report sheds light on subscribers' tastes in TV and movies

In the wake of the WGA's union contract negotiations last fall, which demanded greater transparency about what was watched on streaming services, the typically secretive Netflix chose to begin sharing viewership numbers on a regular basis. "This has been on a continuum for years," co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Variety last December, suggesting that the streamer's first "What We Watched" engagement report was just its way of catching up and not at all about being held responsible. of the industry. Sure, Jan, etc.

The first report revealed how important licensed TV and film remained to a platform that proudly spent heavily on original content. The story found in the second report published Thursday, which breaks down viewership and streaming hours in both film and TV categories from July to December 2023, is more about the surprises: Things that one might assume were blockbusters for the streamer were more modest gains, while less obvious projects apparently scored big. Gal Gadot is also a Netflix star.

Did you see Heart of Stone when it dropped last August? Cool action flick with Gadot as super spy [checks] Rachel Stone? Not a film that comes up much in conversation. (For what it's worth, we dug it well enough thanks to some pretty savvy stunts.) But despite its lack of cultural footprint, the latest from the studio and star that brought you Red Notice was a pretty notable hit for Netflix; according to the engagement report, 109.6 million people watched the film in the first five months on the platform. It surpasses films like Leo, the kid in the middle starring Adam Sandler, David Fincher's The Killer, and even the holiday-timed platform release of Super Mario. Oh, and 27 million people also caught up with Red Notice — the Heart of Stone effect is real!!