Netflix: Know which Indian movies and series broke viewership records in 2023
PTC Web Desk: In 2023, Indian movies and series captivated audiences worldwide, amassing over 1 billion views on Netflix. This impressive milestone was highlighted in Netflix’s second engagement report, titled “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” which covers viewership data from July to December 2023.
According to the report, subscribers globally consumed approximately 90 billion hours of content on Netflix during the latter half of 2023. Indian content emerged as a significant contributor to this staggering figure. Leading the pack in Indian movies on Netflix was Sujoy Ghosh’s “Jaane Jaan,” which recorded 20.2 million views. Following closely were Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster “Jawan” with 16.2 million views and Vishal Bhardwaj’s thriller “Khufiya” with 12.1 million views.
Other popular Indian titles included “OMG 2” (11.5 million views), “Lust Stories 2” (9.2 million views), “Dream Girl 2” (8.2 million views), and the true-crime documentary “Curry & Cyanide” (8.2 million views).
On the series front, “The Railway Men,” starring Kay Kay Menon, Babil Khan, and Divyenndu, emerged as the most-watched Indian series. Set against the backdrop of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Leak, it garnered 10.6 million views. Other top Indian series included “Kohraa,” featuring Suvinder Vicky and Barun Sobti, with 6.4 million views, Raj and DK’s “Guns and Gulaabs” also with 6.4 million views, and “Kaala Paani” with 5.8 million views.
Globally, non-English shows and movies have become immensely popular among Netflix subscribers, accounting for nearly a third of all viewing. The report revealed that Korean, Spanish, and Japanese language content captured the largest share of non-English viewing, making up 9%, 7%, and 5% of total viewing time, respectively.
Standout non-English titles included “Dear Child” from Germany, which achieved 53 million views, and “Forgotten Love” from Poland, with 43 million views. Other notable titles were “Pact of Silence” from Mexico (21 million views), “Mask Girl” from Korea (19 million views), “Yu Yu Hakusho” from Japan (17 million views), and “Berlin” from Spain (11 million views).
Among all movies available on Netflix, “Leave the World Behind,” starring Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts, topped the charts with 121 million views. Adam Sandler’s animated film “Leo” followed with 96 million views.
On the series side, the anime-inspired live-action series “One Piece” was a significant hit, attracting 72 million views. The report also highlighted the enduring popularity of fan-favorite original titles. “Wednesday,” “Red Notice,” and “Squid Game” continued to draw millions of viewers in 2023, long after their initial releases.