The sci-fi genre has witnessed something of a resurgence as of late, with groundbreaking films like Dune dominating the conversation. Of course, Netflix have had their own flirts with the genre and while their efforts have yet to match with that of Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster, they have certainly not been failures.
In fact, their latest sci-fi flick, Atlas, has proved to be incredibly popular with Netflix’s subscribers, racking up a whopping 31,600,000 views and placing it firmly ahead of the competition. Starring Jennifer Lopez as a counterterrorism agent tasked with bringing a rogue AI robot to justice, Atlas takes a lot of inspiration from the classic age of sci-fi, while simultaneously bringing the genre up to date.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the action sci-fi Madame Web, based on the Marvel Comic series, risks dropping out of the ranks altogether. The film currently sits in tenth position, though it has spent a total of three weeks in the top ten.
Not all of this week’s most viewed films on Netflix have been suspenseful tales of AI-gone-bad. Seemingly, it was a big week for animated films aimed largely at children. The Ice Age franchise, for instance, claims both the second and third spot in the top ten, sitting pretty above the likes of Thelma the Unicorn and Sing 2.
The vast majority of films on this week’s list have been bubbling away in the top ten most-watched for a few weeks now. For instance, the previous number one, Mother of the Bride, has fallen three places to number four – showing a continued interest in the apparently declining genre of fluffy rom-coms. Meanwhile, this week marks the eleventh week that the 2021 animated film Sing 2, has featured in the top ten.
There have, however, been some new-comers to the rankings, too. The Canadian thriller Cold Meat has made its debut in the list, peaking at number nine with 3,900,000 views to date. Elsewhere, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has made it into the top ten for the first time, amassing 5,200,000 views over the past week.
Overall, the list is a good indicator of the diverse range of programming available on the streaming service. After all, where else would you find dystopian sci-fi films and gripping thrillers sandwiched in between Ice Age: Dawn of the DInosaurs?
The 10 most popular films on Netflix this week:
- Atlas
- Ice Age: Collision Course
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
- Mother of the Bride
- Thelma the Unicorn
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
- Sing 2
- Security
- Cold Meat
- Madame Web
