(Credit: Netflix)

You can tell a lot about people by the kind of movies they are binge-watching. And this week, Netflix viewers seem to be craving everything from slasher nostalgia to animated redemption arcs, with a pit stop at true crime and grandma-powered feel-goods. It is a chaotic mix, but then again, so is everyone’s mood in late May. Summer plans are half-baked, the heat is real, and nobody wants to overthink their streaming choices.

What is fascinating is not just what is trending, but why. The return of Fear Street clearly plays into our obsession with high school horror and prom night drama. Meanwhile, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish proves that animated cats with swords can still pull in millions of viewers, regardless of age. The top ten this week reads less like a curated list and more like a mood board of emotional extremes, and that is exactly what makes it so revealing.

There is no denying that Nonnas is this week’s heart-stealer. A film about elderly Italian women taking over a restaurant might sound aggressively wholesome, and perhaps that is the reason it works. After months of dystopias, war thrillers, and algorithm-choked science fiction drops, people seem to want something where the biggest crisis is a burnt lasagna. There is comfort in watching tradition win, especially when paired with a bit of Vince Vaughn chaos. Food films often feel like comfort food themselves, familiar, fulfilling, and ending with some kind of emotional carb.

Then comes Untold: The Fall of Favre, a documentary that is not simply about scandal but about watching a legacy unravel in real time. Viewers appear fascinated by the downfall of fame and the mess behind locker room doors. It is voyeuristic, yes, but also feeds into the collective curiosity about what happens when icons fail. This is not about cruelty, but about humanising the untouchable.

Just when the mood threatens to stay serious, Instant Family enters to remind us that adoption comedies still hold space in the streaming universe. It manages to be both funny and emotional. It does not try to reinvent the genre, but sometimes that is not needed. Familiar beats can hit hardest when your brain is tired and looking for something gentle and complete.

Then there is Havoc, A Deadly American Marriage, and The Cat in the Hat, three titles with absolutely nothing in common, except that people are watching all of them. From gritty action to psychological drama to surreal family chaos, the top ten continues to defy logic. But that may be the point. The modern viewer is not loyal to genre. They are loyal to impulse. You watch what matches your 9 PM brain, not what has critical acclaim.

So yes, this week’s top ten is scattered. But honestly, so are we. Netflix is no longer a platform of recommendations. It is a mirror of moods. And if this list reflects anything clearly, it is that people are feeling nostalgic, impulsive, chaotic, and more than a little sentimental.

The most popular movies on Netflix this week

• Fear Street: Prom Queen
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
• Nonnas
• Untold: The Fall of Favre
• Instant Family
• Havoc
• A Deadly American Marriage
• The Cat in the Hat
• Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds
• The Wild Robot