(Credits: Thibault Penin)

With the holiday season swiftly approaching, we’ve reached the point where people are getting in the festive spirit by watching Christmas films, and this week’s Netflix top ten list has a very wintery feel.

With four new entries into the top ten alongside a handful that have been occupying various spots in the list for the past few weeks, the mid-November transition towards festive and family-friendly viewing appears to be in full swing, with a few heavy hitters from previous weeks having now dropped out of the list.

Making its debut at the top of the chart is the Christmas romantic comedy Hot Frosty, which racked up an incredible 16 million views in its first week on the platform. The film, directed by Canadian Jerry Ciccoritti, follows the story of a lonely widow who falls in love with a handsome snowman who has magically sprung to life. Their time together is threatened by the fact that he will surely melt before the end of the holidays.

Sitting behind it at number two, in its second consecutive week on the chart, is the other festive flick Meet Me Next Christmas. While dropping from the top spot last week, it still managed to amass another 11.8million views this week, bringing it to a total of over 20million hours of viewing.

Also celebrating its first week in the chart is the 2015 thriller Focus, which stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie engaged in a battle of deceit between two former lovers. While it came out almost a decade ago, its recent addition to the streaming site has seen it gain a newfound popularity, with 5.4 million viewers taking it to fifth place in its first week. Similarly, joining it in sixth place is the 2019 horror comedy Ready or Not, which has also charted highly in its first week on the platform.

The final new entry on the list is reserved for a documentary in Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley, which debuts at number ten this week. Following the story of Elvis’ sensational 1968 comeback special, this behind-the-scenes look at how the star had fallen from grace, only to return to form so emphatically, has landed well with audiences, squeezing into the top ten with 3.3million views in its first week.

Elsewhere on the list, two horror films in Sam Raimi’s Don’t Move and Hannah Macpherson’s Time Cut have managed to chart for their fourth and third weeks respectively in eighth and seventh place, while there’s a return to the top three for Minions: The Rise of Gru, ousting Sing from the list as the most-watched animated film of the week. Rounding out the list in fourth and ninth place were Alita: Battle Angel and The Lost City, both of which have returned for their second week in the chart.

Top 10 movies on Netflix this week

1. Hot Frosty
2. Meet Me Next Christmas
3. Minions: The Rise of Gru
4. Alita: Battle Angel
5. Focus
6. Ready or Not
7. Time Cut
8. Don’t Move
9. The Lost City
10. Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley