‘Outside the Wire’ Is the Most-Watched Netflix Title Released This Year, According to Netflix

Outside the Wire has claimed the top spot in Netflix‘s most watched titles released this year, CNET reports. During yesterday’s earnings call, the streamer released a list of the top movies and shows of 2021 so far, revealing the Anthony Mackie action movie was was viewed by 66 million accounts in just its first month on the platform.

The film, which premiered on Netflix Jan. 15, stars Mackie as an android officer who is tasked with stopping a nuclear threat. When the film first debuted, Decider’s John Serba accused director Mikael Hafstrom of leaning on “action-movie shibboleths” for his film.

“Soldiers in battle yell GO GO GO or GO GO GO GO GO or GO GO GO GO GO GO GO; Mackie wallops bad guys like he’s the offspring of Captain America and Bruce Lee during heavily edited, mildly choreographed action sequences; characters participate in logistically absurd standoffs; the villain has more than one opportunity to just flat-out finish the good guy and get on with the nefarious plan but doesn’t; etc,” he wrote in his Outside the Wire review.

Despite his less-than-favorable review, Outside the Wire still pulled in plenty of viewers on Netflix who were hungry for some action movie adrenaline after a year without major blockbusters.

Curious what else made the list of Netflix’s most-watched 2021 titles? Here are the other shows and movies subscribers couldn’t get enough of in their first four weeks on the platform:

Yes Day: 62 million accounts
Fate: The Winx Saga Season 1: 57 million accounts
I Care A Lot: 56 million accounts
Ginny & Georgia Season 1: 52 million accounts
Firefly Lane Season 1 : 49 million accounts
Cobra Kai Season 3: 45 million accounts
To All the Boys: Always and Forever: 51 million accounts

While Netflix has become more transparent about viewership data, there’s still a few factors to take into account with lists like what you see above. For one, Netflix accounts only need to watch two minutes of a show or movie for it to count as “watched.” So even if you tuned into the Ginny & Georgia pilot for one scene, Netflix still includes you as one of the 52 million accounts who watched Season 1.

And as CNET points out, Netflix’s numbers come straight from Netflix itself, so they aren’t “independently verified” or “backed up by detailed data from the company.” Without a third party, Netflix has full control over its data, and while the streamer has been more forthcoming with viewership numbers over the past couple of years, it can still pick and choose what exactly to release.

Stream Outside the Wire on Netflix