The dystopian thriller Leave the World Behind was the most-watched film — and most-watched title overall — on Netflix globally in the second half of 2023. On the TV side, anime-inspired live-action series One Piece dominated with 71.6 million views, according to Netflix's second annual "What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report."
Netflix Engagement Report: What It Covers
The data comes from Netflix's second edition of the engagement report, covering 99% of all viewing on the platform from July to December 2023. Netflix subscribers worldwide watched approximately 90 billion hours of content during that six-month period, compared with 93 billion hours in the first half of the year.
Netflix does not report quarterly results. Instead, the company releases this comprehensive viewing report once a year. The first edition, published in December 2023, covered the first half of the year. The second report, released on May 23, 2024, includes total runtime, views (total hours watched divided by runtime), and splits data between films and TV series to align with the platform's weekly Top 10 and Most Popular lists.
Leave the World Behind Leads All Netflix Films
Leave the World Behind stands as Netflix's No. 5 most popular movie of all time. The film generated 121 million views in just over three weeks after premiering on December 8, 2023. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground and EsmailCorp/Red Om Films, the film stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and Myha'la Herrold.
The rest of the H2 2023 top films by views:
- Heart of Stone (Gal Gadot) — 109.6 million views - Leo (Adam Sandler animation) — 96 million views after its November 21 release - Nowhere — 86.2 million views, Netflix's third most popular non-English film of all time - The Out-Laws — 83.8 million views
One Piece Leads Netflix TV Series
Among individual TV series seasons, One Piece Season 1 earned 71.6 million views and more than doubled viewing across Netflix's entire anime film and series catalog. The live-action adaptation of the beloved manga and anime franchise became a landmark hit for the platform.
Other top TV series by views in H2 2023:
- Who Is Erin Carter? — 50.1 million views - Lupin Part 3 — 49.7 million views - The Witcher Season 3 — 47.9 million views - Sex Education Season 4 — 46.3 million views
Licensed Content Dominated Viewing Hours
Licensed titles remained enormously popular on Netflix. Suits accumulated 144 million views across all nine seasons in H2 2023, outpacing many Netflix originals. Other strong licensed performers included Young Sheldon (88 million), Grey's Anatomy (51 million), Gossip Girl (49 million), and Gilmore Girls (45 million).
Netflix also noted that a Squid Game spin-off — Squid Game: The Challenge — boosted viewership of the original South Korean series by 33% in H2 2023, three years after the show first aired.
Legacy Titles and Cross-Season Viewing
When combining all seasons, several legacy Netflix shows showed remarkable staying power. The Witcher totaled 76 million views across all seasons, followed by Virgin River (69 million), The Crown (50 million), Sweet Magnolias (35 million), Top Boy (26 million), and Heartstopper (24 million).
Meanwhile, Wednesday racked up 98 million views for full-year 2023, Red Notice accumulated 62 million, and Squid Game drew 25 million. Earlier Netflix hits CoComelon (eight seasons, nearly 200 million views) and Lupin (first three parts, close to 100 million views) continued to attract large audiences.
Non-English Content Makes Up a Third of Netflix Viewing
Non-English language content accounted for nearly one-third of all Netflix viewing in H2 2023. Korean-language content led at 9% of total viewing, followed by Spanish (7%) and Japanese (5%).
Standout non-English titles included Dear Child from Germany (53 million views), Forgotten Love from Poland (43 million), Pact of Silence from Mexico (21 million), Mask Girl from Korea (19 million), Yu Yu Hakusho from Japan (17 million), Berlin from Spain (11 million), and The Railway Men from India.
The H2 2023 viewing dataset covers 6,599 seasons of TV series and 9,395 films — the most comprehensive picture yet of what Netflix subscribers around the world are actually watching.
