You, Havoc, and Bullet Train Explosion – Pictures: Netflix
A big week in the top 10s this week with multiple big successes coming out of Asian territories, including Bullet Train Explosion from Japan, Weak Hero from South Korea, and even Jewel Thief from India. We’ll also see how the long-awaited Havoc starring Tom Hardy performed, in addition to the fifth and final season of You.
Note: In this report of Netflix’s hours viewed from April 21st, 2025, to April 27th, 2025, we’ll use “Complete Viewings Equivalent,” or CVE, expressed in millions. That means we divide the hours viewed announced by Netflix by the runtime of films or series. It allows for better comparisons between films and series, but it’s not an audience metric. It is the minimum number of viewings if they were all complete from the first second to the last of the film or season.
1. The Two Popes comes back to life
The death of Pope Francis had a fairly predictable impact on Netflix, namely an increase in viewership for one particular film: The Two Popes by Fernando Meirelles, which was released in December 2019—over four years ago—and focused on matters of the Papacy. Since 2023, the film has been fluctuating between 1 and 1.9 million CVEs for each six-month period, according to the Engagement Reports published by Netflix.
Last week, however, the film was watched the equivalent of 3.2 million times, which roughly means it was viewed as much in that single week as it was during the entire 18-month period between mid-2023 and the end of 2024. A significant surge—and one that perfectly illustrates what I pointed out in my article on Netflix films and their longevity: they only need a triggering event for their viewership to be “reactivated.”
2. Havoc
The release of Havoc, Gareth Evans’ long-awaited and troubled film with a notoriously drawn-out production, has been a clear success, racking up 29.8 million CVEs. That makes it the 22nd best launch for a Netflix film released on a Friday since June 2021, which may not seem that impressive, but it’s probably the most competitive release day, and so far this year, only Back in Action has performed better.
3. Bullet Train Explosion
Speaking of action films, the other success of the week is the Japanese movie Bullet Train Explosion, which earned 12.3 million EVCs in its first five days—making it the best launch for an Asian film released on a Wednesday in my dataset. Zooming out geographically, it also ranks as the 10th best launch for any international film released on a Wednesday since June 2021—another impressive achievement, especially for a film that also received very positive reviews.
4. Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins
Let’s round out this trio of successful releases from the past week with the Indian film Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins, which achieved nothing less than the best 3-day launch ever for an Indian Netflix film released on a Friday—surpassing Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga, which had held the record as the most-watched Indian Netflix film during its launch window since June 2021. Zooming out to the Asia-Pacific region, Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins delivered the 8th best debut for a film from that zone, surrounded by nine South Korean titles—making it a truly standout performance. That said, early reviews haven’t been particularly strong, so we’ll have to see whether it can sustain momentum over time and if it can become the franchise that Netflix India seems to want for this title.
5. You
You, the series taken over by Netflix ahead of its second season, returned last week for its fifth and final season. The launch numbers are pretty solid—provided you don’t compare them directly to Season 4, which would be very misleading. That season was released in two parts, giving it an advantage in a Top 10 based on views. Part 1 of Season 4 had debuted with 23.3 million CVEs in its first four days, whereas Season 5 launched with 10.1 million CVEs over the same period. So, the performance is relatively on par if we consider that a half-season tends to generate twice as many EVCs as a full season. Looking further back, Season 3 had kicked off with 15.8 million CVEs in its first four days. The drop between the two seasons is indeed there, but a -33% decline from Season 3 to Season 5 seems relatively minor, especially when compared to other series. That’s actually a rather positive sign, but one that doesn’t matter as the series is officially over.
6. Weak Hero Season 2
Weak Hero had a rather unusual release trajectory: while Season 1 originally debuted in South Korea back in 2022, it only became available globally on Netflix a few weeks ago, just ahead of the release of Season 2, which had been commissioned by Netflix in 2023. This resulted in an extremely rare back-to-back season rollout, something almost unheard of on Netflix. That strategy may have worked in the show’s favor, as Season 2 had a stellar launch with 6.1 million CVEs in its first three days—making it the best debut for a second season of a South Korean series released on a Friday (noting that Squid Game Season 2 launched on a Thursday). Whether it’s thanks to the show’s quality or the close timing between seasons, it’s undeniably an excellent start.
7. A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054
The Brazilian true crime miniseries A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054 had a very strong debut, with 3.9 million CVEs in its first five days—ranking as the second-best launch for an international docuseries released on a Wednesday. Clearly, air disaster stories seem to resonate well with Netflix audiences.
That’s all for this week. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.