It’s not often that Netflix makes public the viewing figures for their shows and films, but it seems that the numbers for their recent hit Bird Box have been too impressive not to share. In fact, in its first week alone, we know that the movie was watched by a whopping 45 million people.
Yes, it’s pretty clear by this point that Susanne Bier’s post-apocalyptic thriller has taken Netflix subscribers by storm ever since hitting the streaming service last month, with its gripping story of survival inspiring all sorts of discussion amongst viewers. And now, Nielsen has offered up even more data to back up the fact that Bird Box is a gigantic success for the company.
According to them, of those 45 million people who watched the film in its first week, 26 million were US subscribers. Furthermore, the biggest day for the pic was apparently its eighth day, which saw an average minute audience of almost 3.9 million, while viewership was close to the 4 million mark for the first 10 days of release – a pattern which Nielsen says is “extraordinarily consistent.”
In fact, the only title that posted better opening-week numbers than Bird Box is Stranger Things season 2, which beat it out by less than 1 million viewers. And considering the immense fanbase that the supernatural show has, it’s wildly impressive that Bier’s thriller came so close to topping it.
Clearly, Netflix must be pretty pleased with how things turned out for Bird Box and there’ve already been talks about a potential sequel. True, the film had a pretty conclusive ending, but there are definitely ways that the story could continue. Then again, some may say that it might be best to just leave things as they are.
We’ll have to wait and see what Netflix decides, but if you haven’t had the chance to check out one of 2018’s most buzzed about movies yet, do yourself a favor and give it a watch. You won’t be disappointed.