New data shows how Netflix's 'The Queen's Gambit' has grown into a word-of-mouth hit since its release

• On Monday, Nielsen released its latest list of top streaming titles, which Netflix's "The Queen's Gambit" topped with 1.85 billion minutes watched from October 26 to November 1.
• "The Queen's Gambit" rose continuously in audience demand in its first month of release, according to data from Parrot Analytics.
• At its peak demand on November 20, "The Queen's Gambit" was over 20 times more in demand than the average series in the US.
• Netflix said last week that "The Queen's Gambit" was its biggest limited series yet.

This story was originally published on November 27, 2020 and has been updated to reflect new Nielsen data.

Netflix said last week that "The Queen's Gambit" was its biggest limited series yet and was watched by 62 million households worldwide in its first 28 days (a view is counted if an account watches two minutes or more).

And new data suggests it got there by steadily growing into a word-of-mouth hit after debuting on October 23.

In Nielsen's latest list of top streaming titles released on Monday, "The Queen's Gambit" was No. 1 with 1.85 billion total minutes watched from October 26 to November 1 in the US. In the prior list, which accounted for the week of October 19 to October 25, the series was No. 10 with 551 million minutes watched.

"The Queen's Gambit" even topped Disney Plus' "The Mandalorian" on the most recent Nielsen list. The "Star Wars" series debuted at No. 3 with 1.03 billion minutes watched after season two premiered October 30, following "The Queen's Gambit" and "The Office," which is also on Netflix (until the end of the year).

"The Queen's Gambit's" significant surge in the week after its debut weekend reflects its growing demand and word-of-mouth.

When "The Queen's Gambit" debuted, it was only around five times more "in demand" than the average series in the US, according to Parrot Analytics. The research company measures "demand expressions," which account for the engagement, viewership, and desire for a series.

By its peak demand on November 20, "The Queen's Gambit" was over 20 times more in demand than the average series in the US.

The chart below illustrates its steady demand growth in its first month.

"The Queen's Gambit" is notable because its popularity continued to increase over its first month of release, breaking the mold of most binge-released shows, Parrot Analytics said.

Parrot Analytics attributed much of the rise to research around the show, which kept interest up. For instance, chess-set sales soared 125% in the US in the weeks after the series debuted, according to The New York Times.

And the series seems to be popular around the world. Netflix said that it cracked its daily top 10 lists of popular titles in 92 counties and ranked No. 1 in 63 countries.