The Most Watched Movies on Netflix in the First Half of 2023

Published: December 22, 2023 by Colman Andrews

Probably the best-known of all streaming services (nobody says “Hulu and chill”), Netflix was in the news last year for losing subscribers – almost a million of them between April and June 2022. The company blamed inflation and increased competition from other streamers (though the drop-off also may have had something to do with a minor price increase, from $14 a month in January of the year to $15.49 in June).

That’s all in the past, however. According to Statista, as of the third quarter of 2023, Netflix now has about 247.2 million subscribers worldwide, marking an increase of more than eight million over the previous quarter. The company also reported revenue of $32.74 billion for the 12 months ending Sept. 30 of this year – 4.03% above the previous 12-month period.

What are people watching on Netflix? Series, both new and returning, continue to draw a huge viewership – “The Night Agent,” “Ginny & Georgia,” “Wednesday,” “The Diplomat,” “The Glory,” “La Reina del Sur,” and “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” among them.

But the service is also famous for its huge catalog of movies. To determine the most watched movies on Netflix in the first half of 2023, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on viewership from the What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report released in mid-December 2023 – the first iteration of what will be a twice-yearly report from the service.

Movies were ranked based on total hours viewed across all Netflix users from January 2023 to June 2023. Supplemental data on IMdb user ratings and votes is current as of mid-December 2023. (See how many of these are on our ranking of the 50 best movies available on Netflix.)

Click here to see a list of the most watched movies on Netflix in the first half of 2023.

Films representing many genres appear on this list – romcoms, thrillers, family dramas, animated features, and more. Almost half were released this year, but some are more than 20 years old – including the Roald Dahl adaptation “Matilda” from 1996 and the classic original “Shrek” from 2001, which launched one of the most valuable movie franchises of all time.

Here are the most watch movies on Netflix in the first half of 2023:

30. The Gray Man (2022)

Source: Courtesy of Discovery Force Channel

Source: Courtesy of Discovery Force Channel

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 58.3 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.5/10
IMDb user votes: 229,794
29. A Man Called Otto (2022)

29. A Man Called Otto (2022)

Source:

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 61.3 million hours
IMDb user rating: 7.5/10
IMDb user votes: 144,111

28. Dog Gone (2023)

Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 61.6 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.1/10
IMDb user votes: 5,800

27. The Sea Beast (2022)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 62.7 million hours
IMDb user rating: 7.0/10
IMDb user votes: 56,064

26. Home (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 62.8 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.6/10
IMDb user votes: 97,141

25. Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 64.3 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.7/10
IMDb user votes: 214,482

24. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 67.0 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.7/10
IMDb user votes: 115,469

23. Red Notice (2021)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 68.1 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.3/10
IMDb user votes: 308,439

22. Trolls (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 73.4 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.5/10
IMDb user votes: 76,225

21. The Boss Baby (2017)

Source:

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 75.1 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.3/10
IMDb user votes: 117,198

20. Sing 2 (2021)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 76.6 million hours
IMDb user rating: 7.4/10
IMDb user votes: 82,237

19. Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 77.2 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.1/10
IMDb user votes: 8,040

18. Chupa (2023)

Source:

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 77.8 million hours
IMDb user rating: 5.5/10
IMDb user votes: 6,908

17. All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 80.0 million hours
IMDb user rating: 7.8/10
IMDb user votes: 230,805

16. Sing (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 80.5 million hours
IMDb user rating: 7.1/10
IMDb user votes: 142,888

15. Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 81.0 million hours
IMDb user rating: 7.0/10
IMDb user votes: 26,926

14. The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (2023)

Source:

Source: Courtesy of NBCUniversal

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 83.2 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.9/10
IMDb user votes: 33,290

13. Extraction (2020)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 86.1 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.7/10
IMDb user votes: 179,118

12. Murder Mystery (2019)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 87.9 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.0/10
IMDb user votes: 113,003

11. Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 96.4 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.5/10
IMDb user votes: 81,088

10. AKA (2023)

Source: Emma McIntyre / Staff / Getty Images Entertainment

Source: Emma McIntyre / Staff / Getty Images Entertainment

Total viewership time, January to June 2023: 120.0 million hours
IMDb user rating: 6.6/10
IMDb user votes: 12,137