Action thrillers lead the pack of Netflix’s most-watched movies in the first half of 2023. The streaming service released a comprehensive report of what people watched on the platform in December 2023, kickstarting its commitment to publish a bi-yearly report titled What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report every six months. Apart from action thrillers, the top movies include a romantic comedy directed by Kenya Barris and a comedy mystery directed by Jeremy Garelick.
With over 18,000 titles, the report covered 99% of all viewing on the platform, revealing that people spent almost 100 billion hours watching movies and TV shows on Netflix within the timeframe reviewed. It could also be deduced from the report that subscribers spent more time watching series compared to films. The top most-watched titles include series like Shawn Ryan’s The Night Agent, Sarah Lampert’s Ginny & Georgia, The Glory, and Wednesday. The following are the most-watched Netflix movies.
1. The Mother
Niki Caro’s action thriller The Mother (2023) is Netflix’s most-watched movie in the first six months of 2023. Starring Jennifer Lopez alongside Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, and Joseph Fiennes, the film pulled 249.9 million watch hours. Released on May 12, 2023, The Mother follows Jennifer Lopez’s character, an endangered assassin hiding from dangerous assailants. She gave up her daughter to a foster family at birth to protect her but was lured out to rescue the child after she was kidnapped. The movie has largely received mixed and average reviews. It has a 5.6/10 rating on IMDB and a 43% positive rating with an audience score of 62% on Rotten Tomatoes.
2. Luther: The Fallen Sun
The crime thriller written by Neil Cross and directed by Jamie Payne comes behind The Mother as Netflix’s most-watched movie in the first half of 2023. Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023) was conceived as a continuation of Luther, a British psychological crime thriller that aired on BBC One for five seasons from May 2010 to January 2019. The film was first released in some theaters on February 24, 2023, before its eventual release on Netflix on March 10, 2023. Starring Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, and Andy Serkis, the film tells the story of a disgraced detective and his efforts to stop a wealthy, sadistic serial killer terrorizing London. The Fallen Sun managed 209.7 million watch hours within the timeframe covered by the Netflix report.
3. Extraction 2
Another action thriller on the list, Sam Hargrave’s Extraction 2 is the third most-watched movie on Netflix. It managed 201.8 million watch hours, living up to the performance of the first Extraction film. Extraction 2 was released on June 16, 2023, to positive reviews. The Netflix report covered the watch hours from January to June 2023. Given that, it’s safe to conclude that the sequel to 2020’s Extraction is on the path to becoming one of the most-watched movies on Netflix for the entire year. The action thriller follows Chris Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake and his team—Golshifteh Farahani’s Nik Khan and Adam Bessa’s Yaz Khan—as they embark on another audacious rescue mission.
4. You People
You People is the only romance comedy on the list. The first feature film directed by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, You People comes behind Extraction 2 as one of Netflix’s most-watched movies in the first six months of 2023. The romance comedy was first released in some theaters on January 20, 2023, before it was offered on Netflix for streaming later that month. From the time it was released on Netflix on January 27, 2023, to June 30, 2023, You People managed 181.8 million watch hours.
The film stars Jonah Hill and Lauren London alongside Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Duchovny, Sam Jay, and Nia Long. Its premise revolves around the complexities of a romance between a Jewish man and a Black Nation of Islam woman. The movie was released to lukewarm reviews. It has a 5.5/10 rating on IMDB and a 40% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes with a 34% audience score.
5. Murder Mystery 2
With 173.6 million watch hours, Murder Mystery 2 is the fifth most-watched Netflix movie. Directed by Jeremy Garelick, the comedy-mystery is a sequel to 2019’s Murder Mystery, directed by Kyle Newacheck. Released on March 31, 2023, the film quickly reached Netflix’s Top 10 in over 90 countries despite the unenthused reviews it received from critics. Murder Mystery 2 stars Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, and Mélanie Laurent. It follows two struggling detectives caught up in an international abduction after honoring their friend’s wedding invitation. The film earned Sandler the 2023 MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
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