If, like most of us, you’ve been steadily making your way through every category available on Netflix, it’s likely you will have encountered some serious hits and misses. While Hollywood may have formulated the secret to success when it comes to a movie worthy of an Oscar nomination, you can never be too sure with Netflix’s original films. Whether it’s a star-studded action blockbuster that receives questionable reviews from the Twitter-verse or a runaway success that garners surprising critical acclaim, Netflix's original flicks all tend to do one thing very well—get people talking.

If you’re someone who likes to stay on trend, the “Trending Now” row will likely serve as your guiding light. It’s something most of us who aren’t in the mood for endless scrolling opt for, particularly as Netflix is notoriously cagey about revealing specifics about its content. From ratings to subscriber numbers, despite being one of the most prolific streaming platforms in the world, Netflix continues to safeguard its information.

As more streaming services continue to pop up, making it increasingly difficult for users to abstain from signing up to all of them and copping a pretty hefty bill, original content has become a deciding factor. This is content that is exclusive to that platform, which makes it incredibly significant as it’s ultimately what sets Netflix apart from say, Disney or Stan. But every now and then, Netflix gives us a brief glimpse at just how popular its original content is, and with the success of one of its latest projects, we now have an idea of the service's most successful original movies of all time.

As the line-up suggests, the action/thriller is a huge boost for Netflix. In this instance, the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Sandra Bullock, and Ryan Reynolds have all seen their films arrive on Netflix to instant hype—unsurprising really, given the stars’ award nomination-littered resumes.

If you’re on the hunt for some new movies to watch on Netflix, below, we count down Netflix’s 10 most popular original movies, ranked by total viewing hours from the first 28 days of the movie’s debut on the streaming service. 

10. The Irishman: 214,570,000 hours

While there’s no hard and fast formula for what constitutes a Netflix success, a scan of the credits list for The Irishman may as well be it. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, it comes as a surprise to absolutely no one that The Irishman was one of Netflix’s most successful film debuts. Looking at the cast lineup, The Irishman delivers exactly what you would expect: mobsters, an intricate web of organised crime, grand jury investigations—Scorsese and De Niro in a nutshell.

9. The Unforgivable: 214,700,000 hours

What happens when Sandra Bullock steps into the role of a convicted murderer recently released from prison who embarks on a pursuit to find her estranged younger sister? A runaway success of a Netflix movie with views for days. The Unforgivable—a 2021 film based on the British miniseries titled Unforgiven—is a dramatic observation of crime, punishment, and revenge, underpinned by a sister’s relentless search for her sibling. One to pull on the heartstrings. 

8. Purple Hearts: 228,690,000 hours

Coming out of the gates in an unexpectedly successful fashion, Purple Hearts was one of 2022’s most successful Netflix releases of the year. Part love story, part military propaganda, the film chronicles the fraudulent relationship between a diabetic singer-songwriter and former Marine in debt to his drug dealer who conspire to reap the military’s financial benefits. If it sounds convoluted, that’s because it is, but who are we to judge? The numbers speak for themselves.

7. Extraction: 231,340,000 hours

It almost goes without saying that any film starring a Hemsworth—be it Liam, Chris, or Luke—is bound to score a pretty hefty number of views. Netflix’s 2020 film Extraction is certainly no exception. Starring Chris Hemsworth as a black-market mercenary who has nothing to lose, the film is the very epitome of a high-voltage action film. When Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord, adventure unfolds. You can expect high-adrenaline fight sequences, chases, and a whole lot of heart from the Aussie golden child, Hemsworth himself.

6. The Adam Project: 233,160,000 hours

Who says films should stick to a single genre? The Adam Project is the ultimate proof that genre-bending films are what the people want, evidenced by the 233 million viewing hours the film garnered in its first 28 days of release. Traversing the bounds of sci-fi, action, and comedy, The Adam Project sees an all-star cast comprised of Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldaña time travel from 2050 to 2022 in a bid to save the world—a film positively bursting at the seams. 

5. The Gray Man: 253,870,000 hours

You’ve got Ryan Gosling playing a CIA assassin, the uncovering of agency secrets, bounties, a crazy colleague and an international manhunt—it’s little wonder The Gray Man landed on Netflix to a very warm reception from action film fiends. Based on the 2009 book of the same title, The Gray Man underwent over a decade of development before it was finally released in 2022, garnering mixed reviews from audiences, mostly regarding the film’s USD 200 million budget that viewers deemed largely excessive. Regardless, the film still saw close to 254 million viewing hours in its first 28 days—as far as Netflix films go, we deem that quite the success.

4. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: 279,740,000 hours

When Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery landed on Netflix late last year, it was impossible not to feel even slightly curious about it. In what parallel universe would Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, and Kathryn Hahn possibly feel so creatively aligned as to wish to star in an action-cum-comedy film together? Well, as it turns out, the Glass Onion universe—and that curiosity was obviously widely felt as the film scored close to 280 million viewing hours in the 28 days immediately following its release. The “whodunnit” merges everything one could possibly want in a movie with such a star-studded cast—humour, murder, elaborate puzzles, insufferable rich people—it was bound to be an out-of-the-ballpark success before it even landed on Netflix. 

3. Bird Box: 282,020,000 hours

Never has the blindfold been such a symbol of pop culture fascination since the release of 50 Shades of Grey. Sandra Bullock stunned in this film about a mysterious force that decimates the populaton. The real kicker? If you see it, you die. 

2. Don’t Look Up: 359,790,000 hours

If you haven’t guessed by now, a star-powered cast (and a very generous budget) are basically prerequisites for sky-high Netflix viewing hours. Don’t Look Up is, yet again, proof. A clever, tongue-in-cheek commentary on politics, society, and the environment in the United States, Don’t Look Up sees the golden children of Hollywood—read: Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Timothée Chalamet (we’ll stop there)—team up for a humorous analysis of the state of the world. If it wasn’t so funny, it would be terribly depressing. 

1. Red Notice: 364,020,000 hours

Given Red Notice stars two of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors—Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Ryan Reynolds—the film’s Netflix success makes plenty of sense. With Johnson in the role of a CIA agent investigating the theft of art apparently gifted to Cleopatra by Marc Anthony, he recruits another most-wanted art thief to help him in his pursuit. Needless to say, there’s plenty of double-crossing, a chase around the globe, and a healthy peppering of humour throughout the film—the very ingredients required for a Netflix wunder-flick. 

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