As 2019 draws to a close, Netflix is offering its own taken on the “year-end list,” unveiling its most popular releases to hit the steaming service in 2019 in the United States.
Taking the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s overall “most popular” list — which includes film and TV — is Murder Mystery, the feature comedy that stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston as unwitting tourists who get wrapped up in a complicated murder plot. After the movie’s June release, Netflix reported 30,869,863 accounts viewed Murder Mystery in its first three days, which represented the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix film.
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The next most popular title was the third season of Stranger Things, followed by the latest Michael Bay feature, 6 Underground, and Disney feature The Incredibles 2.
Important to note is that the list — which includes other breakout categories like U.S. scripted series, films, unscripted and stand-up specials — comprises titles that hit the streaming service in the 2019 calendar year, with “popularity” being measured by the number of subscribers who watched at least two minutes of a feature or TV show in the first 28 days of its release. Netflix ranked TV shows like The Witcher or You season two, which have yet to be on the service for 28 days, based on its projected viewership numbers.
(For Netflix viewership numbers, like those released in quarterly earnings reports, a subscriber must watch 70 percent of a title for it to be counted as a view; or 70 percent of one episode of a TV series.)
On the TV side, its most popular 2019 U.S. series list is topped by Stranger Things season three; The Witcher (which bowed Dec. 20 to mixed reviews); Dark Horse comic series The Umbrella Academy; dramedy Dead to Me, the second season of former Lifetime original You (which debuted Dec. 26); Emmy-winning limited series When They See Us; critical darling Unbelievable; Sex Education, season three of 13 Reasons Why; and the Michael B. Jordan-produced Raising Dion. (It’s worth noting that the latter series, which launched Oct. 4, is waiting word on its second season, while the others were either closed-ended stories or previously picked up for additional seasons.) Raising Dion also ranked at the top of Netflix’s most popular kids and family series of 2019 list.
The most popular movie releases list includes Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The comedy releases list was topped by Dave Chappelle’s Sticks & Stones; Kevin Hart’s Irresponsible; and Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias’ One Show Fits All. On the nonfiction side, breakout Tidying Up With Marie Kondo led the pack.
The full list of Netflix’s most popular releases of 2019 follows:
Top 10 Most Popular Releases of 2019
1. Murder Mystery
2. Stranger Things 3
3. 6 Underground
4. The Incredibles 2
5. The Irishman
6. The Witcher
7. Triple Frontier
8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
9. The Umbrella Academy
10. The Highwaymen
Top 10 Most Popular Series Releases of 2019
1. Stranger Things 3
2. The Witcher
3. The Umbrella Academy
4. Dead to Me
5. You: Season 2
6. When They See Us
7. Unbelievable
8. Sex Education
9. 13 Reasons Why
10. Raising Dion
Top 10 Most Popular Movie Releases of 2019
1. Murder Mystery
2. 6 Underground
3. The Incredibles 2
4. The Irishman
5. Triple Frontier
6. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
7. The Highwaymen
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
9. Wreck-It Ralph 2
10. Secret Obsession
Top 10 Most Popular Nonfiction Releases of 2019
1. Tidying Up With Marie Kondo
2. Jailbirds
3. Rhythm + Flo
4. You vs. Wild
5. Nailed It!: Season 3
6. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: New 2019: Freshly Brewed
7. Awake: The Million Dollar Game
8. Sugar Rush Christmas
9. Prank Encounters
10. Sugar Rush: Season 2
Top 10 Most Popular Documentary Releases of 2019
1. Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes: Limited Series
2. Our Planet
3. FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
4. HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé
5. Don’t F–k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer: Limited Series
6. Abducted in Plain Sight
7. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
8. The Family: Limited Series
9. Street Food: Volume 1: Asia
10. Kevin Hart: Don’t F–k This Up
10 Most Popular Comedy Specials on Netflix in 2019
1. Dave Chappelle: Sticks and Stones
2. Kevin Hart: Irresponsible
3. Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias: One Show Fits All
4. Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho
5. Amy Schumer: Growing
6. Bill Burr: Paper Tiger
7. Aziz Ansari: Right Now
8. Jeff Dunham: Beside Himself
9. Wanda Sykes: Not Normal
10. Mike Epps: Only One Mike
Top 10 Most Popular International Releases of 2019
1. Mighty Little Bheem
2. Kidnapping Stella
3. Always a Witch
4. Mirage
5. Burn Out
6. High Seas
7. Como caído del cielo
8. Money Heist: Part 3
9. Quicksand
10 The Rain: Season 2
