Squid Game officially becomes Netflix’s biggest show
David Farnor | On 13, Oct 2021
Squid Game has officially become Netflix’s biggest show, with 111 million accounts streaming it in its first 28 days on the platform.
The Korean series, which premiered last month, sees 456 desperate contestants compete with each other in a mysterious and deadly survival game involving multiple rounds of games. The prize? 45.6 billion won (just shy of £30 million), which would pull them out of their misery. Every game they face is a traditional children’s game such as Red Light, Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. Who will be the winner, and what is the purpose behind this game?
“This darkly entertaining satire of social inequality is a gripping, pointed ride,” we wrote in our review of Squid Game..
It has proven a huge hit worldwide, becoming the No 1 show in 90 countries around the world, including the USA the UK. Now, after predicting it might happen a few weeks ago, Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game is officially its most-watched launch show in its history.
That surpasses the 82 million figure racked up by Bridgerton in its first month online.
Of course, the exact numbers should be taken with a pinch of salt, as Netflix counts a view as any account watching at least 2 minutes of any episode – a metric it considers indicates an active choice by a viewer to load the series. But it highlights the relative reach of the show compared to Bridgerton, with Netflix investing significantly in subtitling and dubbing the show into more than 30 languages – a strategy that has seen success with Money Heist, Lupun and Dark.
Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos tweeted his admiration for the approach recently, saying: “Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and the team at Netflix get it right so often. Their internationalization strategy isn’t easy, and they’re making it work. Impressive and inspiring. (And I can’t wait to watch the show.)”
Squid Game could become Netflix’s biggest show
3rd October 2021
Squid Game could become Netflix’s biggest show to date, the streaming giant has revealed.
The Korean series, which premiered last month, sees 456 desperate contestants compete with each other in a mysterious and deadly survival game involving multiple rounds of games. The prize? 45.6 billion won (just shy of £30 million), which would pull them out of their misery. Every game they face is a traditional children’s game such as Red Light, Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. Who will be the winner, and what is the purpose behind this game?
It has proven a huge hit worldwide, becoming the No 1 show in countries around the world, including the USA and the UK. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said this week that it would “definitely be our biggest non-English-language show in the world” and, just nine days after its release, that there was “a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever”.
If so, that would see it overtake Bridgerton, Netflix’s current No 1 original show of all time, with 82 million subscribers watching the period drama for at least two minutes during its first 28 days after release.
“We did not see that coming, in terms of its global popularity,” Sarandos said of Squid Game’s success. It follows a similar surge in popularity for other international series, such as Germany’s Dark and Spain’s Money Heist.
“This darkly entertaining satire of social inequality is a gripping, pointed ride,” we wrote in our review of Squid Game.