Stranger Things fans everywhere set their dials to WSQK, The Squawk, tuning in to DJ Rockin’ Robin and the rest of the Hawkins crew as they continue their fight against Vecna for the fate of the world. The series returned last week with Volume 1 of its fifth and final season, touting the biggest premiere week ever for an English language show in the history of Netflix, amassing 59.6 million views and securing No. 1 on the English TV list. The new season made it into the Top 10 in all 93 countries tracked and reached No. 1 in 90 of them.
In reaction, the Duffer Brothers had this to say, “The sheer number of fans who have already watched Volume 1 is staggering — the response has been more than we ever could have dreamed. The show is now a decade old, and seeing the fanbase not only endure but continue to grow has been incredibly rewarding for us, the actors, and the thousands of artists who helped bring this story to life. We truly cannot thank everyone enough, and we are beyond excited to share Volume 2 — there’s so much more to come!”
The series as a whole dominated half of the Top 10 — another first for any English series. All five seasons of Stranger Things made the list, with the first season at No. 3 (8.9 million views), Season 4 at No. 5 (6.1 million views), Season 2 at No. 6 (5.6 million views), and Season 3 at No. 8 (4.6 million views). Having attracted worldwide admiration, the first four seasons have now accumulated 1.2 billion combined views since their premiere. The next three episodes of the series will be released on Christmas Day, and The Finale arrives on Netflix and in select theaters on New Year’s Eve, all at 5 p.m. PT.
With Thanksgiving officially in the books, viewers made it clear they’re ready for Christmas. The new holiday movie Jingle Bell Heist stole the No. 1 spot on the English Film list with 19.3 million views. The film follows two down-on-their-luck strangers, Sophia (Olivia Holt) and Nick (Connor Swindells), who join forces to rob a posh London department store run by a greedy businessman. At No. 2 with 14.4 million views in its second week on the list was the romantic holiday movie Champagne Problems, about a workaholic exec, Sydney (Minka Kelly), who travels to Paris and unknowingly falls for the heir to the Champagne brand her company is trying to acquire.
Setting yet another new record, KPop Demon Hunters celebrated its 24th straight week in the Top 10, making it the longest-charting film ever. The movie came in at No. 3 on the English film list with 10.4 million views. Highlighting the achievement, the vocal talents behind HUNTR/X performed “Golden” at last week’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
For other family fare, the animated feature In Your Dreams continued to delight with the story of a brother and sister searching for the Sandman to grant them a wish; the movie reached No. 4 on the list with 9.3 million views. Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs took the No. 10 spot on the English TV list with 4 million views, illuminating the science world with fun experiments, daring competitions, and creative contraptions for kids to explore at home.
New to the English TV list was the stand-up comedy special Kevin Hart: Acting My Age, which took No. 2 with 9.2 million views. Marking his fifth Netflix comedy special, Hart reflects on the trials and triumphs of his forties, managing family dynamics, and embracing the wisdom of aging.
In its second week, Clint Bentley’s critically acclaimed film Train Dreams landed at No. 6 with 6.9 million views. Finding the remarkable in the unremarkable, it follows the life of logger Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) from childhood to courtship of his wife-to-be, Gladys (Felicity Jones), building a home with her, and working the land of the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century. Meanwhile, back in the 19th century, the famed account of a brilliant scientist and the creature he brings to life continued to lure in viewers, putting Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein at No. 5 with 7.3 million views.
In its third week, the Korean rom-com series Dynamite Kiss climbed to No. 1 on the non-English TV list with 5.5 million views, continuing to entertain audiences with the story of a woman posing as a mother at work and the supervisor who falls for her. That’s followed by Last Samurai Standing, the Japanese historical drama about 292 samurai fighters competing for a cash prize in 1878, which took No. 2 with 3.2 million views.
Left-Handed Girl, the intimate intergenerational drama following a single mother who moves her family to Taipei to open a stall in a night market, debuted in the No. 8 spot of the non-English film list with 1.2 million views. The acclaimed film is Taiwan’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
With 2.8 million views, the 2022 movie Troll nabbed the No. 2 spot on the non-English film list. Audiences revisited the folklore-inspired adventure, about a massive ancient creature that’s awakened in the Norwegian mountains and threatens the local population, ahead of the release of Troll 2, the sequel that dropped Dec. 1.
The second season of Missing: Dead or Alive launched at No. 7 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views. The latest episodes of the true crime docuseries detail investigations into missing persons from the perspective of a South Carolina sheriff’s department.
Viewers tagged along with Three Idiots in Kenya, a Korean variety series that follows a trio of friends as they explore the East African country. The first batch of episodes premiered at No. 5 on the non-English TV list with 1.9 million views. Season 3 of Delhi Crime took the No. 8 spot with 1.1 million views as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi (Shefali Shah) takes on a new high-profile crime, working to uncover a human-trafficking operation.
