Netflix has always been both fairly selective and secretive when it comes to releasing viewing figures for their original content, which isn’t surprising because they don’t really have to. The streaming giant aren’t exactly going to let everyone know that one of their movies or TV shows has turned out to be a disappointment, but they’re also more than happy to reveal the data when they’ve produced a genuine homegrown success.
With billions being spent each year to increase their output, Netflix have already started cornering the market on awards season favorites, and are now moving heavily into the blockbuster game. David Ayer’s Bright was their first attempt at a studio-style blockbuster, but the most high-profile and expensive original project to date is without a doubt Michael Bay’s 6 Underground.
Not only did Netflix hire one of the most well-known and expensive filmmakers in Hollywood, but they also signed up one of the world’s biggest movie stars in Ryan Reynolds and handed the duo a $150 million budget to create the kind of car-crash action spectaculars that the man behind The Rock, Armageddon and Bad Boys built his entire career upon. And that’s exactly what they did, with 6 Underground drawing generally negative reviews from critics, but nonetheless finding itself incredibly popular with subscribers.
In a recent announcement of viewership data, Netflix revealed that 83 million households watched 6 Underground in the first four weeks it was available, but there’s a catch. These figures include everyone who watched at least two minutes of the movie, so even if somebody didn’t care for the first scene and then decided to watch something else, they’re still included in these numbers.
That being said, the vast majority of people would have known exactly what they were getting into when they decided to load up a Michael Bay flick, so there’s little doubt that 6 Underground will have racked up a lot of viewers that watched from start to finish, which bodes well for the already in-development sequel.