Like presents under the Christmas tree, fans couldn’t wait to unwrap new episodes of Squid Game this week. Season 2 of the massively popular Korean series from creator/director Hwang Dong-hyuk and starring Lee Jung-jae topped the non-English TV list with a whopping 68 million views, ranking No. 1 in 92 countries and breaking the record for most views for a show in its premiere week (previously set by Wednesday Season 1 in 2022, with 50.1 million views).
Since its release on Dec. 26, the show’s sophomore run has already become Netflix’s seventh most popular non-English TV show in record time — Squid Game Season 1 remains at the top with 265.2 million views — and propelled the multiplayer video game Squid Game: Unleashed to No. 1 in action games on the App Store in 57 countries. And there’s more to come: the third and final season is due out in 2025.
NFL Christmas Gameday Live also won big: The Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans (which featured Beyoncé’s thrilling halftime performance, now available to stream as a standalone special) and the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers claimed the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the English TV list with 14.4 and 14.3 million views, respectively. The NFL Christmas games are the two most-streamed NFL match-ups in US history.
Meanwhile, Carry-On flew high for its third consecutive week at No. 1 on the English films list with 34.9 million views. Plus, interest for the historical drama The Six Triple Eight remained strong in its second week, landing at No. 2 with 23.3 million views.
Fans also got their blood pumping with thrillers like The Madness (No. 7 in English TV, 3 million views) and Spain’s 1992 (No. 9 in non-English TV, 1.2 million views). They also reveled in the heartwarming romance of Virgin River Season 6, which landed at No. 3 in English TV this week with 9.2 million views; Season 1 ranked at No. 10 with 1.3 million views. Plus, there was plenty of love for South Africa’s Umjolo: Day Ones, which secured No. 4 in non-English films with an impressive 2 million views.
Fittingly, the Christmas spirit was strong during the holiday week, with That Christmas (No. 3 in English films, 11.9 million views), Black Doves (No. 5 in English TV, 5.4 million views), and Our Little Secret (No. 7 in English films, 7 million views) all leaving an impression.
Fans also tuned in for plenty of drama, with Norway’s La Palma holding strong at No. 2 in non-English TV (12.2 million views) and Korea’s When the Phone Rings at No. 4 (4.4 million views). Colombia’s One Hundred Years of Solitude: Part One left its mark at No. 6 (1.8 million views), and the Brazil limited series Senna rounded out its fifth week on the list at No. 8 with 1.4 million views.
In this home stretch of the year, viewers loved Belgium’s Ferry 2 (No. 1 in non-English film, 6.1 million views), enough to launch the film’s 2021 predecessor, Ferry, to the No. 8 slot with 1.4 million views. Many also tapped into Italy’s The Children’s Train (No. 3 in non-English films, 2.3 million views) and India’s Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous — a documentary on the famed singer, music producer, and actor — which raked in 1.1 million views (No. 10 in non-English films).
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