Netflix’s binge bonanza: 97bn hours watched, one war film wins it all

CALIFORNIA: Netflix members ploughed through more than 97bn hours of content between January and June 2026, the platform’s biggest half-year haul yet, and the appetite, if anything, seems to be growing.

War Machine, an action thriller, romped away with the crown for most-watched film, racking up 147m views. Hot on its heels came The Rip (136m) and Swapped (131m), the animated caper now poised to become Netflix’s second-biggest original cartoon ever, trailing only last year’s K-pop Demon Hunters (130m), which still found an audience despite being more than a year old. Apex (129m) and Thrash (100m) rounded out a strong run for the action genre, while literary adaptations proved their pulling power too: People We Meet on Vacation (78m) became the streamer’s most-watched book-to-screen film of the half.

On the small screen, His & Hers seized the top spot with 104m views, narrowly edging out Bridgerton’s fourth season (100m), whose return nearly tripled viewing of the entire regency franchise compared with the second half of 2025, a 180m-view haul across all seasons. South Korean drama I Will Find You (64m) and the long-awaited Stranger Things 5 (56m) filled out the top four, while Run Away (50m) and Teach You a Lesson (48m) showed fresh titles can crack the top ten within weeks of release.

Non-English programming is no longer a niche pursuit, it now accounts for more than a third of all viewing. South Korea delivered volume, with Teach You a Lesson leading a slate that included Can This Love Be Translated? (29m) and a second season of Bloodhounds (24m). Spain chipped in Firebreak (34m) and a Money Heist spin-off, Berlín and the Lady with an Ermine (28m). India logged its best half yet, driven by Dhurandhar (37m), now the platform’s most-watched non-English film in this report. South Africa, too, announced itself with 180 (37m) and The Polygamist (17m).

Live events also drew crowds: Kevin Hart’s comedy special (21m), a BTS comeback concert (21m) and Alex Honnold’s vertigo-inducing Skyscraper Live (13m) all found sizeable audiences. Documentaries and kids’ programming held their own, with Ms Rachel notching 69m views across two seasons to remain the undisputed queen of the nursery set.

Netflix says this is the last such report in its current format; from 2027 the six-monthly snapshot gives way to an annual one. For now, though, the message is unambiguous: whatever the genre, whatever the language, subscribers are pressing play and staying put. Ninety-seven billion hours is not a habit. It is a way of life.