In a post-Squid Game and Parasite entertainment landscape, it’s fairly safe to say that audiences around the world have a never-before-felt appreciation for international cinema, to a point where every now and again, projects from distant shores catch more attention than home-grown entertainment does.
Today was one such week for Netflix, with a Thai cooking drama enjoying more hours viewed than any other English-speaking film on the platform around the world, per the streaming service’s Top 10 charts. The film, titled Hunger, had over 43.5 million hours viewed around the world. Comparatively, the top English-speaking film for the week, The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die, pulled in 35.5 million hours.
While the latter film reigned supreme at the top of the charts in the United States, Hunger managed to pull greater total numbers on a global scale. Locally, Hunger managed to rank in the number six spot, between Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax in rank five, and Murder Mystery 2 at seven.
Hunger, directed by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri follows Aoy (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying), a chef running her family’s noodle restaurant as she receives an invitation to work in the fine-dining industry under a notoriously nasty Chef Paul (Nopachai Chaiyanam). The film has been clawing its way up the rankings, claiming spots in the top ten in 67 countries last week.
Rounding out the top five most-watched international films on Netflix this week in descending order are, Queens on the Run, Kill Boksoon, Shehzada, and Phenomena.