Picture Credits: Netflix
Welcome back to our weekly deep dive into the global Netflix viewing data! The survival thriller spectacle APEX continues to flex its muscles, holding onto its crown as one of the biggest movie debuts of the year in its second week. Over on the TV side, the big-budget international thriller Man on Fire sparked a solid—if not mega explosive—debut with 11 million views, leaving its season 2 fate hanging in the balance. We’re also breaking down the softer-than-expected sophomore return of Mindy Kaling’s Running Point, a steep drop for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, and yet another reminder that true crime always sells. Let’s dive into the numbers to see what the world is bingeing.
Elsewhere, we’ve already covered how Swapped has made the second-biggest animated movie debut for a Friday release, based on all available data. A welcome and much-needed hit from Skydance Animation for the streamer.
Not as many no-shows this week as in prior weeks, although we would highlight Funny AF With Kevin Hart, which is ongoing with live episodes, still absent from the TV English charts. Netflix India did strike out with its new sports thriller Glory, which failed to chart.
Let’s start with how the weekly top 10 views compare against data going back to June 2023:
- English TV: 52,100,000 views (Rank 56 of 150 weeks)
- English Film: 85,100,000 views (Rank 36 of 150 weeks)
- Non-English TV: 29,300,000 views (Rank 63 of 150 weeks)
- Non-English Film: 17,900,000 views (Rank 139 of 150 weeks)
1. Man on Fire Debuts to 11M Views
A good week for Netflix’s big new English-language series, with Man on Fire debuting to 11M views. That doesn’t quite put the show in big hit territory, but it’s certainly good enough for a new property. It’s got some work to do to secure a hopeful season 2 renewal, especially if you consider that a show like this, filming across multiple countries, will have a hefty budget. Let’s stack it against some of 2026’s debuts and some shows from the past few years, also released on a Thursday, in a similar budget/genre:
2. APEX Holds Strong In Week 2 – Still Third Biggest Movie Debut of Year
APEX topped the movie chart once again, growing viewing hours by just over 5% to 63.6M hours and 40.2M views. Last week, its debut was enough to be the third-biggest of the year, and that remains the case in week 2 with The Rip and War Machine ahead by around 3M views as of week 2:
Let’s look at the trajectory thus far and what needs to happen to catch up in the weeks to come:
3. Running Point Season 2 Vs Season 1
The Mindy Kaling-led comedy series Running Point returned with season 2 last week and opened pretty positively, though notably down from season 1, and didn’t come with a near instant renewal like last time around. That trend of being down on S1 continues in week 2, with views still roughly 44% lower than week 1 (12M views for S2 vs 21.5M for S1). That still doesn’t seem terminal to me, but probably doesn’t indicate the show going much beyond 3 or 4 seasons. We should note that season 1 is quite high up in the weekly charts suggesting that the release of season 2 has gotten new people in the door or at least people returning, which is always a positive sign.
4. Should I Marry a Murderer? Debuts Strong
Another strong docu-series debut for a Wednesday this week for Netflix with Should I Marry a Murderer? from the United Kingdom lighting up the charts to achieve second on the TV English charts below Man on Fire with 10.6M views. That puts it quite below some of the biggest docu-series ever, like American Nightmare and Depp vs. Heard, but more in line with the Killer Sally, Amy Bradley is Missing, and the recently released Trust Me: The False Prophet mark. Nothing new to learn here. True crime sells.
5. Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 Viewing Hours Drop 26% In First Full Week
Stranger Things‘ big new animated series returned to the weekly top 10s for its second and what could be its last time, as it just narrowly got in with 2.1M views. Already renewed for a season 2, the show isn’t quite living up to the lofty hopes that the flagship series deserved, with it now tracking substantially below a comparable animated title, Devil May Cry season 1.
6. Envious Returns for Fourth and Final Season
The Argentinian comedy series has had remarkably good viewership throughout its run since its debut in 2024, but it came to an end with its fourth season, and the truth is, it could’ve kept going, managing to top the numbers of season 3, but came just shy of topping the best opening week of season 2.
7. My Dearest Señorita from Netflix Spain
Netflix Spain launched My Dearest Señorita on Friday which, per the official description, was always going to be a unique title for the top 10s. It reads, “A young woman from a traditional family learns she’s intersex, sparking a journey of self-discovery, gender identity and love found in unexpected places.” It debuted to 1.7M views, which is lower compared to recent Spanish movie releases, but honestly, the fact that it featured in the top 10s at all, given the subject matter, is a win in my book.
Full Netflix Top 10s for Week Ending May 3rd, 2026
English TV
| Rank | Title | Hours | Views | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man on Fire: Season 1 | 61,000,000 | 11,000,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Should I Marry A Murderer?: Limited Series | 26,800,000 | 10,600,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Unchosen: Season 1 | 39,700,000 (-15.35%) | 8,800,000 | 2 |
| 4 | Running Point: Season 2 | 32,000,000 (26.98%) | 6,700,000 | 2 |
| 5 | Hulk Hogan: Real American: Limited Series | 12,900,000 (4.88%) | 3,100,000 | 2 |
| 6 | Raw: April 27, 2026 | 5,200,000 (-21.21%) | 2,800,000 | 1 |
| 7 | Running Point: Season 1 | 12,500,000 (-50.40%) | 2,500,000 | 6 |
| 8 | Danny Go!: Season 1 | 4,600,000 | 2,300,000 | 3 |
| 9 | Salish & Jordan Matter: Season 1 | 7,700,000 (-23.76%) | 2,200,000 | 4 |
| 10 | Stranger Things: Tales From ’85: Season 1 | 10,100,000 | 2,100,000 | 2 |
English Film
| Rank | Title | Hours | Views | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apex | 63,600,000 (5.12%) | 40,200,000 | 2 |
| 2 | Swapped | 26,400,000 | 15,500,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Thrash | 6,200,000 (-55.07%) | 4,300,000 | 4 |
| 4 | Migration | 5,700,000 | 4,100,000 | 4 |
| 5 | KPop Demon Hunters | 6,500,000 (-7.14%) | 3,900,000 | 46 |
| 6 | 180 | 5,900,000 (-78.70%) | 3,700,000 | 3 |
| 7 | Roommates | 6,500,000 (-69.77%) | 3,600,000 | 3 |
| 8 | Trust | 5,200,000 (10.64%) | 3,500,000 | 2 |
| 9 | Miraculous World: Paris, Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir | 2,600,000 | 3,300,000 | 1 |
| 10 | Gladiator II | 7,300,000 | 3,000,000 | 3 |
Non-English TV
| Rank | Title | Hours | Views | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If Wishes Could Kill: Limited Series | 44,800,000 (165.09%) | 7,500,000 | 2 |
| 2 | Flunked: Season 1 | 16,500,000 (98.80%) | 4,000,000 | 2 |
| 3 | Sold Out on You: Limited Series | 16,300,000 (58.25%) | 3,700,000 | 2 |
| 4 | Straight to Hell: Season 1 | 27,500,000 | 3,300,000 | 1 |
| 5 | Envious: Season 4 | 13,100,000 | 3,000,000 | 1 |
| 6 | Santita: Season 1 | 8,500,000 | 1,900,000 | 1 |
| 7 | Fake Profile: Season 3 | 11,300,000 (-42.93%) | 1,700,000 | 3 |
| 8 | Ronaldinho: The One and Only: Limited Series | 4,200,000 (-63.48%) | 1,500,000 | 3 |
| 9 | Bloodhounds: Season 2 | 10,400,000 (-32.47%) | 1,500,000 | 5 |
| 10 | Alpha Males: Season 5 | 4,100,000 (-54.44%) | 1,200,000 | 3 |
Non-English Film
| Rank | Title | Hours | Views | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buen Camino | 6,000,000 | 4,000,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Je m’appelle Agneta | 6,700,000 | 3,500,000 | 1 |
| 3 | My Dearest Señorita | 3,300,000 | 1,700,000 | 1 |
| 4 | Son-In-Law | 2,500,000 | 1,400,000 | 1 |
| 5 | Love at Last | 2,000,000 (-48.72%) | 1,300,000 | 2 |
| 6 | Yiya Murano: Death at Tea Time | 2,200,000 (0.00%) | 1,300,000 | 2 |
| 7 | Raakaasa | 2,700,000 | 1,200,000 | 1 |
| 8 | Do Deewane Seher Mein | 2,800,000 (-50.88%) | 1,200,000 | 3 |
| 9 | Prey | 1,700,000 | 1,200,000 | 4 |
| 10 | Janur Ireng | 1,800,000 | 1,100,000 | 1 |
What’s your biggest takeaway from the top 10s this week? Let us know in the comments down below.
