High-octane Jason Statham sequels, cute woodland-based animations, nervy Outback-set thrillers, Thai romantic action thrillers, and mystery dramas about aquarium cleaning staff befriending an octopus. It is all happening on Netflix at the moment.
Global Viewing Trends
At any given time, there are around 3,000 movies available on the world's most successful streaming platform. Yet subscribers tend to gravitate toward the same titles, usually those promoted by the service. While the following five films are not necessarily the best available, they are the most globally popular according to Netflix's own most-watched chart.
5. Mechanic: Resurrection – 5.9 Million Views
This 2016 actioner did decent business upon its theatrical release a decade ago. A sequel to 2011's 'The Mechanic', it grossed $125 million from a $40 million budget. It never quite reaches the heights of its predecessor, but if you expect a low-rent version of a Bond, Bourne, or Mission: Impossible movie, you will not be too disappointed. Jessica Alba, Michelle Yeoh, and screen legend Tommy Lee Jones join The Stath for this mostly entertaining three-star effort.
4. My Dearest Assassin – 8.5 Million Views
Thailand's 'My Dearest Assassin' is essentially a romance drama awkwardly wedged into an assassin thriller. The plot revolves around a rare blood type called 'aurum blood', which powerful criminals desperately seek, leading to a young girl being raised inside a secret killer organization hidden behind a Bangkok furniture warehouse. As she grows up alongside two handsome assassins who both clearly fancy her, the film swings wildly between slow-motion flirting, emotional staring contests, and sudden bursts of martial arts violence. There are gangs, masked thugs, gunfights, and a surprising amount of misty-eyed yearning for a film with designs on being a Thai John Wick. It is all a bit ridiculous at times, but there is enough stylish action and melodrama to keep things entertaining if you are after something glossy and slightly silly.
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures – 10.4 Million Views
An older woman striking up a friendship with an octopus sounds like a movie pitch from a four-year-old, but that is basically the premise here. Somehow, it is warmer and less silly than it should be. Sally Field plays Tova, a widow working night shifts at a small aquarium while quietly carrying decades of grief over her son's disappearance. Her unlikely companion is Marcellus, a very intelligent octopus voiced by Alfred Molina, who spends much of the film escaping his tank and silently judging humanity. When a young man arrives in town searching for his father, the film steers everybody together in a fairly sentimental but still very watchable way. It is gentle, slightly cheesy, and occasionally bizarre, but Sally Field keeps the whole chatting mollusc operation afloat.
2. Apex – 16.2 Million Views
Joining 'Wolf Creek', 'Walkabout', and 'Wake in Fright' in the annals of cinematic Outback history is 'Apex', Netflix's new thriller starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton. Reeling from the dramatic pre-titles death of her partner, Theron's character embarks on an Aussie adventure in the middle of nowhere. There, she meets a friendly local who turns out not to be friendly at all. Cue a smart cat-and-mouse thriller revolving around 'The Most Dangerous Game'—hunting for humans.
1. Swapped – 38.7 Million Views
Animated body-swap films are suddenly everywhere. Pixar recently had characters swapping minds with robot animals in 'Hoppers'. Now Netflix has arrived with 'Swapped', a fantasy adventure about two strange little creatures accidentally ending up inside each other's bodies. Michael B. Jordan voices Ollie, a fluffy creature called a pookoo, while Juno Temple plays Ivy, a bird-like rival species. After a magical accident forces them to swap places, the pair are dragged into a colourful world filled with plant-animal hybrids, giant mountain beasts, and all sorts of made-up fantasy terminology. Following a promising first week in the charts, it has done even better this time round. The animation feels a bit cut-price compared to Dreamworks or Pixar, but it is fun and—crucially—kids do not tend to notice or care about that sort of thing.
