Jennifer Lawrence in “Don’t Look Up.”
Netflix
- Every Tuesday, Netflix updates its weekly ranking of its most popular movies and TV shows.
- “Don’t Look Up” was the streamer’s most watched movie this week and is one of its biggest ever.
- The movie is a potential Oscar contender but has divided critics.
Director Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up” topped Netflix’s weekly ranking of its most popular movies for the second week in a row — and is already one of the streamer’s top movies of all time.
The climate change satire — starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as astronomers who discover a planet-killing comet is hurtling toward Earth, and are dismayed at the US government’s lack of urgency — was watched for 152.29 million hours globally from December 27 to January 2, according to Netflix.
Every Tuesday, Netflix updates its most popular movies and TV shows based on hours watched during the previous week.
“Don’t Look Up” was already Netflix’s third biggest movie of all time 10 days after it debuted on the streaming service, with 263.32 million hours watched in that time period, the streamer said. Netflix’s all-time ranking is based on the movies’ first 28 days, so it could rise in the ranking in the coming weeks.
Here are the streamer’s top five movies of all time, based on hours watched in their first month:
- “Red Notice” (2021) — 364.02 million hours
- “Bird Box” (2018) — 282.02 million hours
- “Don’t Look Up” (2021) — 263.32 million hours
- “Extraction” (2020) — 231.34 million hours
- “The Irishman” (2019) — 214.57 million hours
Experts see “Don’t Look Up” as one of Netflix’s biggest Oscar contenders this year.
The Hollywood Reporter’s awards analyst, Scott Feinberg, ranked it as one of the 10 potential best-picture nominees in his latest forecast. McKay won an Oscar for adapted screenplay for 2015’s “The Big Short” and his Dick Cheney movie “Vice” was nominated for eight Oscars including best picture.
But critics have been split on the movie and it currently has a 56% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Insider’s Jason Guerrasio ranked it among his top five movies of the year, while others have criticized its on-the-nose satire.
“McKay’s movies are not particularly pointed in their satire and, as time has gone on, have increasingly settled into their preferred form of a harangue,” Alison Willmore wrote for Vulture.
Below are the top 10 movies on Netflix globally from December 27 to January 2 (Insider combined Netflix’s English and non-English lists):
10. “Minnal Murali” (Netflix original, 2021) — 11.44 million hours
Netflix
Description: “A tailor gains special powers after being struck by lightning, but must take down an unexpected foe if he is to become the superhero his hometown needs.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 60%
What critics said: “While the film is aware of its superhero-ness, it never loses sight of the fact that it is set in a real place. This is a tough balance, and Basil Joseph gets it just right.” — Indian Express
9. “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw” — 12.87 million hours
“Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw”
Universal
Description: “When US agent Luke Hobbs is sent to England to stop a deadly biothreat, he’s forced to team up with his nemesis, mercenary Deckard Shaw.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 67%
What critics said: “Maybe the family isn’t all there. But it turns out the extended relatives throw a pretty good party, too.” — Mashable
*Not available in the US
8. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) — 14.18 million hours
Marvel Studios
Description: “Peter Parker returns to routine life as a high schooler until the Vulture’s arrival gives him the chance to prove himself as a web-slinging superhero.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%
What critics said: “What makes this homecoming fun is [Tom] Holland, who seems as excited about Spider-Man as his classmates even though he is Spider-Man.” — NPR
*Not available in the US
7. “Red Notice” (Netflix original, 2021) — 14.54 million hours
Dwayne Johnson in “Red Notice.”
Netflix
Description: “An FBI profiler pursuing the world’s most wanted art thief becomes his reluctant partner in crime to catch an elusive crook who’s always one step ahead.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 37%
What critics said: “Red Notice is limp and dull, and does more to showcase the shortcomings of each of its marquee idols than it does to highlight their bankable charisma.” — Vanity Fair
6. “Vicky and Her Mystery” (Netflix original, 2021) — 15.16 million hours
Netflix
Description: “After her mom’s death, a heartbroken girl and her dad settle in wild, beautiful Cantal. Can a special creature help her heal? Inspired by a true story.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: N/A
What critics said: N/A
5. “Lulli” (Netflix original, 2021) — 15.21 million hours
Netflix
Description: “A brilliant but self-centered medical student seems incapable of listening to others — until an accident gives her the ability to hear people’s thoughts.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: N/A
What critics said: “While the cast is delightful and world is engaging, Lulli feels rushed and shallow, offering us rough character sketches and half-formed storylines.” — Decider
4. “Back to the Outback” (Netflix original, 2021) — 17.72 million hours
Netflix
Description: “They might look dangerous, but these wildly misunderstood creatures have hearts of gold — and they’re breaking out of captivity on a quest to find home.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 88%
What critics said: “However generic this movie is in premise, there is wit to be found in its details, and warmth in its message.” — New York Times
3. “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix original, 2021) — 18.26 million
Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter.”
Yannis Drakoulidis/Netflix
Description: “A woman’s quiet seaside vacation takes an unsettling turn when her fixation on a young mother staying at a nearby villa awakens memories from her past.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 95%
What critics said: “The Lost Daughter, a sharply crafted, clear-eyed interrogation of less-than-likable parents, ebbs and flows on the strength of this reality, along with a few immense performers from its veteran ensemble.” — Polygon
2. “The Unforgivable” (Netflix original, 2021) — 21.31 million hours
Kimberley French/Netflix
Description: “Released from prison into a society that won’t forgive her, a woman convicted of murder searches for the little sister she was forced to leave behind.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 37%
What critics said: “There’s a good reason this story was once told as a miniseries: that’s a lot of plot for a movie that clocks in at just under two hours.” — Newsday
1. “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix original, 2021) — 152.29 million hours
Meryl Streep in “Don’t Look Up.”
Netflix
Description: “Two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humankind of a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth. The response from a distracted world: Meh.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 56%
What critics said: “Don’t Look Up is a blunt instrument in lieu of a sharp razor, and while McKay may believe that we’re long past subtlety, it doesn’t mean that one man’s wake-up-sheeple howl into the abyss is funny, or insightful, or even watchable.” — Rolling Stone
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