The 10 biggest Netflix original movies of all time
- Netflix highlighted popular movies like "The Midnight Sky" and "Holidate" in its earnings report on Tuesday.
- They've entered the top 10 of the biggest Netflix original movies ever.
- The list includes mostly movies that were released in 2020 as Netflix continues to gain subscribers.
Netflix said it had passed 200 million subscribers in its latest earnings report on Tuesday, and it has the blockbuster movies to reflect its streaming dominance.
The streamer highlighted recent movies like "The Midnight Sky" and "Holidate" in its report, saying that they were watched by 72 million and 68 million households worldwide in their first 28 days of release, respectively. That means they move into the top 10 of the biggest Netflix movies ever.
Netflix provided a list of its top movies to Bloomberg in July, but it's changed even in that time. Based on Netflix's own viewership numbers, other more recent movies like "Enola Holmes" and "Project Power" have also entered the conversation since then.
The list favors newer movies since Netflix has gained subscribers over time. Seven of the 10 movies in this updated list were released last year. Netflix counts a view if an account watches at least two minutes of a movie.
Half of the movies are rated as "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning they have below a 60% critic score. The critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated "The Irishman" was booted from the list, as were three other movies. The four movies no longer in the top 10 are:
- "The Platform" (2020) - 56 million
- "The Wrong Missy" (2020) - 59 million
- "Triple Frontier" (2019) - 63 million
- "The Irishman" (2019) - 64 million
Below are the top 10 most popular Netflix original movies of all time, based on its own viewership numbers in the first month of release:
10. "Holidate" (2020) - 68 million
Description: "Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 44%
What critics said: "Holidate falls in the bland no-man's land between being sharp enough to appeal to adults (à la Bridesmaids) and tame enough to watch with the whole family." — Polygon
9. "The Midnight Sky" (2020) - 72 million
Description: "In the aftermath of a global catastrophe, a lone scientist in the Arctic races to contact a crew of astronauts with a warning not to return to Earth."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 51%
What critics said: "The Midnight Sky is a good example of a movie that sells itself short by trying to be one thing — serious, heavy, emotional — when, by all available indicators, it should be more of a thriller, or more ridiculous, or at the very least more fun." — Rolling Stone
8. "Project Power" (2020) - 75 million
Description: "An ex-soldier, a teen and a cop collide in New Orleans as they hunt for the source behind a dangerous new pill that grants users temporary superpowers."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 61%
What critics said: "A film built on the thrill of the now, the hyper-modernity on show in hip-hop trappings, tricks lifted from gaming and yes, the availability of the whole thing at the push of a button in the palm of your hand." — Financial Times
7. "Enola Holmes" (2020) - 76 million
Description: "While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 90%
What critics said: "'Enola Homes' is the kind of movie that the preteen set will surely delight in and watch over and over. I know I would have." — Associated Press
6. "The Old Guard" (2020) - 78 million
Description: "Four undying warriors who've secretly protected humanity for centuries become targeted for their mysterious powers just as they discover a new immortal."
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 80%
What critics said: "The Old Guard asks some existential questions that leave the audience wanting more." — Vox
5. (tie) "Murder Mystery" (2019) - 83 million
Description: "On a long-awaited trip to Europe, a New York City cop and his hairdresser wife scramble to solve a baffling murder aboard a billionaire's yacht."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 44%
What critics said: "Every Adam Sandler comedy abides by a trope as hoary as 'the butler did it.' At some point in the shenanigans, Sandler's schlub has gotta get a chance to prove he's the bravest boy in the world." — Variety
5. (tie) "6 Underground" (2019) - 83 million
Description: "After faking his death, a tech billionaire recruits a team of international operatives for a bold and bloody mission to take down a brutal dictator."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 36%
What critics said: "This is a terrible action movie that utilizes Michael Bay's worst instincts and none of his best." — Newsday
3. "Spenser Confidential" (2020) - 85 million
Description: "Spenser, an ex-cop and ex-con, teams up with aspiring fighter Hawk to uncover a sinister conspiracy tied to the deaths of two Boston police officers."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 37%
What critics said: "An ending that teases the possibility of sequels, with Wahlberg's Spenser tackling more cases of police officers and emergency personnel who have been falsely accused of crimes, should elicit nothing but groans." — AV Club
2. "Bird Box" (2018) - 89 million
Description: "Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a survivor and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 64%
What critics said: "Bird Box's pieces feel forcibly screwed together, a movie marionetted by strings of data code. There's good scenes and smart ideas, but overall, the movie mostly clomps." — Guardian
1. "Extraction" (2020) - 99 million
Description: "A hardened mercenary's mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 67%
What critics said: "The fight scenes are plastic and glossy. Hargrave mistakes gore for cool and technical prowess for choreography, deploying overlong one-take shots that look like 'Call of Duty' outtakes." — New York Times
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