The Netflix awards: The shows and films which broke huge records on the platform

Netflix can be quite private with the statistics and figures about its most popular shows, only sometimes revealing which records have been broken by the biggest titles being spoken about at the time. In February 2020, Netflix rolled out the top 10 feature, which records how titles are performing, quite clearly for the audience. This not only gave us a tiny insight into who was watching what, and how popular shows are, but also gave us huge FOMO if you’d never heard of what was in the top spot. Smart Netflix, real smart.

Tens of millions of us watch the series and films that Netflix churns out every single day, and they quite often cost millions to make and get everyone talking about them. But what are these big bucks shows and how much do they cost? What have been the most successful Netflix titles ever? Here’s a compiled list of records that Netflix shows and films have broken, and the awards they therefore hold. From the shows we binge watched the most, to those which cost the most millions to make.

The most watched show on Netflix ever

Award currently held by: Squid Game

It’s official: Squid Game is the most watched title on Netflix, of all time. It totally eclipsed any other film or series, with a huge 111million households viewing it straight after its release – this makes it the biggest series launch in Netflix history. When Squid Game first came out and was an instant success, Netflix backed it as being the biggest show in history, and then it took just 17 days for it to break all records on the platform. Over 50 per cent of Netflix’s global subscribers have watched the show.

Previously, Bridgerton had stood as the most watched series on Netflix – having been viewed by 82million households in the first month after its Christmas release.

The most watched film on Netflix ever

Award currently held by: Extraction

Extraction on Netflix was watched by a huge 99million households in the first month of its release – this makes it not just the most watched film, but the most watched title in general on Netflix, ever. The action thriller was number one in the Netflix top 10 list over the May bank holiday when it was released.

The most watched title, in terms of hours people spent watching it

Award currently held by: Bridgerton

Netflix has also released figures of its most popular titles, in terms of just how many hours of it we have all watched. You might not quite be able to get your head around this, but we spent a ridiculous 625 MILLION hours watching Bridgerton. So that’s like four MILLION WEEKS. I cannot comprehend. But, breaking it down, 82 million households watched it, which roughly works out as every single household watching the full series from start to finish. We all know that a lot of people will have dipped out before the end and the rest of us made up the hours by watching episode six over and over again. Filthy.

The most expensive show for Netflix to make

Award currently held by: The Crown

Ok, so The Crown is hella expensive to make, like ridiculously so. It’s cost Netflix over half a BILLION so far – with a current cost of $520million. When it was first released, it was rumoured to be the most expensive show Netflix has ever put together, and the rumours were true. The first two seasons are said to have cost $100million each to make and season four cost around $144million. Putting together all of those royal sets, costumes and god knows what else costs an estimated $13million per episode. Whew.

The most expensive film for Netflix to make

Award currently held by: The Gray Man

The Gray Man is yet to be released on Netflix, after production has been delayed multiple times due to the global pandemic. However, since the espionage thriller was announced it was said to be Netflix’s most expensive original film to date – with Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo behind it, and Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans as stars. The budget is said to be $200million.

The longest streak at number one by a film or series

Award currently held by: The Queen’s Gambit

The top spot of the Netflix top 10 list is a lusted for position by many. And for The Queen’s Gambit, it comfortably sat in the coveted position for over a month. The show, which also broke records as the most-watched scripted limited series on Netflix to date, was in the number one spot on Netflix for 46 days.

Which show was at number one in the most countries

Award currently held by: Squid Game

One record Squid Game smashed straight after being released was for the show which was at number one in the Netflix top 10 list in the most countries worldwide. Squid Game was a worldwide hit, and went into number one in 90 countries. This means it was at number one simultaneously in every single country it was released in, which has never happened with a Netflix show before.

The Netflix show which has won the most awards

Award currently held by: The Crown

The Crown has won the most accolades for Netflix, currently having won 123 different awards and been nominated for 412. This includes an impressive sweep at the latest Emmys, winning 11 awards including best drama series. Gillian Anderson earned an Emmy for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Josh O’Connor won Outstanding Lead Actor as Prince Charles and Olivia Coleman won Outstanding Lead Actress as Queen Elizabeth II.

Most talked about show on Netflix

Award currently held by: Bridgerton

The art to a good show is one that makes the world stop and it feels like everyone is talking about it. The final of the Netflix records is another award for Bridgerton – after research carried out by MrQ revealed it is the most talked about Netflix release since 2020. The research gave shows a talked about score out of 10 – Bridgerton got seven- based on things such as global searches for the show, Instagram posts about it and how many news articles have been written about the series. The research found a huge 1.8million articles have been written about Bridgerton, and counting.

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