Image Credit: Netflix
If it feels like you’re running out of brand new Netflix Original movies to choose from for your weekend watchlist this year, your intuition is dead on. As we wrap up the first quarter of 2026, Netflix’s English-language movie output has fallen to an eight-year low, putting the ambitious “new movie every week” era firmly in the rearview mirror.
But while volumes are undoubtedly down, viewership certainly is not. A Handful of Heavy Hitters Netflix Drops – Like Juggernaut Action Flicks war machine And incision-Drawn in incredible numbers. Led by a massive Spanish breakout coupled with a strong, globe-trotting non-English slate burst fireQ1 2026 still has some big headlines.
Let’s break down the data to see what dominated the global charts and what missed the mark.
English Movie Hits and Misses of 2026 So Far
Netflix’s movie output has dropped significantly compared to previous years to an eight-year low, and that makes this section a lot easier to do. The English language list in particular is pretty easy, as we only have four movies total to cover. Yes, if we’re lucky now in the first quarter we actually went from one movie per week to one movie per month in 2019… We didn’t even see an animated movie in the first quarter. Not good.
action blockbuster winner
We’ll start with two movies that have gotten Netflix’s movie slate off to a good start this year:
- war machine:The current king of 2026. After garnering a whopping ~94 million views in its first two weeks and charting in 93 countries, it narrowly missed out on The Rip for the top spot. Since it’s still charting, its lifetime numbers are going to be astronomical.
- incision: A complete juggler. With ~90.3 million views in its first 14 days and an impressive 7 weeks in the top 10 in 93 countries, the film had the staying power that streaming platforms dream of.
certified smash hits
These titles easily crossed the 40 million-view threshold, establishing themselves as massive successes.
- People we meet on holidays:A brilliant artist. Reaching approximately 45.8 million views and remaining in the top 10 in 92 countries for four weeks, proving that it was a huge global crowd-pleaser that traveled exceptionally well.
- Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man:A great start. With over 44.7 million views in just two weeks and reaching the top 10 in 91 countries, the highly anticipated film continuation of the beloved series is proving that the Shelby family’s global appeal is as strong as ever.
mid level success
- joe college road trip: While its 24.5 million views may seem “small” next to War Machine, it’s important to remember that it still outperformed every international title we’ve seen before (beating Firebreak’s ~21.9 million). Charting in 52 countries for three weeks makes it a very solid, respectable win, especially considering this is a comedy about a character that’s secondary to another franchise.
Non-English Movie Hits and Misses of 2026 So Far
Okay, this was a little disappointing. Let’s move on to the non-English films so far:
| Topic | Language | release date | #top 10 countries | week in top 10 | Estimated 14-day view |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| burst fire | Spanish | 20 February | 91 | 5 | ~21,928,571 |
| accused | Hindi | 27 February | 77 | 3 | ~15,957,143 |
| state of fear | Portuguese | 11 February | 69 | 2 | >12,700,000 |
| made in Korea | tamil | 12 March | 54 | 3 | ~11,957,143 |
| big fake | Italian | 23 January | 67 | 3 | ~10,785,714 |
| road flow 3 | French | March 4th | 31 | 2 | >7,100,000 |
| Pavane | Korean | 20 February | 19 | 2 | >5,300,000 |
| Swedish connection | swedish | 19 February | 21 | 2 | >4,600,000 |
| red line | Thai | 26 March | 34 | 1* | 4,200,000* |
| From the ashes: the pit | Arabic | 22 january | 22 | 2 | >4,000,000 |
| A letter to my youth | Indonesian | 29 January | 3 | 2 | >3,700,000 |
| 53 sunday | Spanish | 27 March | 7 | 1* | 2,900,000* |
| Cosmic Princess Kaguya! | Japani | 22 january | 6 | 3 | ~2,542,857 |
| this is me | Japani | 10 February | 3 | 1 | N/A (omitted) |
global blockbuster
When international titles come out, they come out in a big way. burst fire (Spanish) is the undisputed champion of the year so far. Not only did it garner an astonishing ~21.9 million views in its first 14 days, but it also painted the map red, charting in the top 10 in 91 different countries and staying on the global charts for five weeks.
This Hindi language thriller is at its peak accusedWhich garnered almost 16 million views and reached the top 10 lists of 77 countries. Joining the global juggernaut club state of fear (Portuguese) and made in Korea (Tamil), both comfortably crossed the 11 million-view mark while charting in over 50 countries.
Image Credit: Netflix
mid tier movies
European-style fare remains a reliable draw for Netflix. italian film big fake The wider footprint (67 countries) was used to achieve approximately 10.8 million views in three weeks, even though it proved to be a bit front-loaded. Meanwhile, the underlying audience for road flow 3 (French) received a respectable 7.1 million views in 31 countries.
“Local Giant” phenomenon
High ideas don’t always equal global reach. An interesting takeaway from this quarter is A letter to my youth (Indonesian). The film received over 3.7 million views in its first two weeks – a very good number – but it was only released in 3 countries. This proves the sheer power of ultra-dense domestic markets to impact a film’s global metrics without a title ever having to “travel” abroad.
underperformers and defaulters
It’s been a tough quarter for Japanese facilities. this is me It was a complete miss, falling out of the top 10 after one week and failing to gain traction outside only 3 countries. During this time, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! represents a curious statistical anomaly: it remained in the global top 10 for three weeks, but only charted in 6 countries and received over 2.5 million views, indicating an intensely dedicated but incredibly niche audience.
All eyes are on Thai features as we look to Q2 red lineWhich is already showing breakout potential. Having achieved 4.2 million views and reaching 34 countries in its first week itself, it has the geographical momentum to become the next major sleeper hit.
That’s all for movies for now – we’ll be back mid-year for Q2 winners, plus we’ll also have a Netflix engagement report!
