As the continuous presence of Adam Sandler more than shows, Netflix‘s Top 10 most-watched list is far from a barometer of quality. Admittedly, the best movies to be found on the streaming service often make their way to the top of the rankings, as does their lineup of star-powered blockbusters, but in recent months the charts have been throwing up a lot more surprises than usual.
Of course, a lot of this has to do with the continued effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, with millions of people finding themselves with a whole lot more free time than they’ve been used to, so it hardly comes a surprise that viewership numbers for every major platform have gone through the roof since March. That being said, some of the titles to rise to the upper echelons of the Top 10 have come completely out of nowhere, and it presents a bizarre snapshot of the kind of content subscribers have been devouring during their increased downtime.
For one, 365 Dni and The Last Days of American Crime both nabbed the top spot despite neither having a single positive review on Rotten Tomatoes. B-level animation The Nut Job also made a surprise appearance in the Top 10, while The Help worryingly made it to first place right in the midst of worldwide protests for racial equality. Massively underrated low-budget thriller The Guest, meanwhile, proved hugely popular in June, as did Eddie Murphy’s critically-panned family film A Thousand Words for some unknown reason.
Elsewhere, mediocre genre flicks House at the End of the Street, Red Riding Hood, Splice and Lockout also found an unexpected new audience, and things got so crazy that one of Bruce Willis’ worst bargain basement actioners even managed to crack the Top 10 not too long ago.
Maybe when things eventually start getting back to normal, Netflix‘s most-watched list will do the same, but like 2020 in general, keeping an eye on it has been a wild ride so far.
