Ever since Netflix started rolling out its weekly Top 10 rankings, it’s been easier to figure out which in-house exclusives can be deemed as the cream of the crop. The downside is that many of the fantasy shows to have met their demise couldn’t even crack the weekly chart, whereas an unassuming action thriller AKA has solidified itself as an all-timer.
Co-writer and director Morgan S. Dalibert’s bruising descent into the criminal underworld was an immediate success upon premiering on April 28, where it secured the number one spot in over 50 countries around the world to reign supreme as one of the streaming service’s biggest hits of 2023.
However, it’s also gone several steps further by showing remarkable staying power, something many of Netflix’s star-studded Hollywood blockbusters constantly fail to do. In fact, according to the company’s latest data, AKA is officially one of the 10 most-watched foreign-language films of all-time.
With upwards of 107 million hours accrued, the hard-hitting tale of a special agent finding his loyalties questioned and stretched to breaking point when he befriends the son of the criminal boss he’s been tasked to bring down from the inside is already at number four on the list, which means it’s almost certain to fly even higher as time progresses.
It’s yet another reminder that no matter how much money Netflix spends on any given project, long-lasting popularity is never guaranteed, especially when it’s unheralded and vastly more cost-effective genre flicks like AKA that tend to be the ones making moves without anyone really paying much attention at all.