South Korean writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk really struck a chord with Squid Game, a show that was initially just meant to be a brutal and grotesque critique of capitalism. However, the series became much more than that on Netflix, creating a kind of mass hysteria, imitated by reality competition shows and even exploited in real-life game formats (which Netflix also followed with the second season). The sequel is similarly successful, though it still needs another 100 million views to surpass the first season in Netflix’s all-time top 10. According to Nielsen data, the second season also broke records, as no other series (or season) has achieved such high numbers in a single week, not even the first season of Squid Game at its peak.
Deadline reported that according to Nielsen’s statistics from December 23 to 29, 2024, the second season of Squid Game garnered a staggering 4.9 billion (!) minutes of viewing in its premiere days. This was achieved in just four days in the US, as the sequel dropped on Netflix on December 26. Deadline pointed out, however, that Nielsen doesn’t differentiate between seasons in their streaming top 10, but they also noted that Squid Game was not listed on the previous week’s chart, so it’s likely that the first season's viewership data contributed little, if anything, to this 4.9 billion-minute total. By the way, the first season of Squid Game kicked off with 3 billion minutes of viewing according to Nielsen, a huge achievement back in mid-September 2021.
Top 10 Streaming Movies and TV Shows in the USA, December 23–29, 2024:
- Squid Game (Netflix) – 4.9 billion minutes
- Virgin River (Netflix) – 2.25 billion minutes
- The Snowman Action (Red One, Prime Video) – 1.8 billion minutes
- Carry-On (Netflix) – 1.54 billion minutes
- The Six Triple Eight (Netflix) – 1.3 billion minutes
- Bluey (Disney+) – 1.17 billion minutes
- Landman (Paramount+) – 1.08 billion minutes
- The Equalizer (Netflix / Paramount+) – 1.079 billion minutes
- Home Alone (Disney+) – 0.92 billion minutes
- Elf (Hulu / Max) – 0.85 billion minutes
Squid Game also dominated both the overall streaming top 10 (including movies and shows) and the streaming films and series produced by the respective platforms, with its 4.9 billion minutes of viewership. Virgin River, with 2.25 billion minutes, came close, but didn’t even come close to challenging Squid Game's massive lead. Virgin River, which has been running since 2019, debuted its sixth season on Netflix on December 19. Close behind was Dwayne Johnson's The Snowman Action with 1.8 billion minutes of viewership, which struggled in theaters but seems to have gained traction on Prime Video in the US. Carry-On, Netflix’s festive hit, landed in fourth place with 1.54 billion minutes of viewership but couldn’t topple The Snowman Action from the top spot in the movies-only top 10.
Top 10 Streaming Movies in the USA, December 23–29, 2024:
- The Snowman Action – 1.8 billion minutes
- Carry-On – 1.54 billion minutes
- The Six Triple Eight – 1.3 billion minutes
- Home Alone – 0.92 billion minutes
- Elf – 0.85 billion minutes
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, Peacock) – 0.81 billion minutes
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Max / Netflix) – 0.76 billion minutes
- Die Hard (Hulu) – 0.72 billion minutes
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Hulu / Max) – 0.71 billion minutes
- Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018, Peacock) – 0.7 billion minutes
Netflix had an incredibly successful year and fourth quarter, thanks in no small part to Squid Game and Carry-On, with major milestones for its subscriber count. Hwang Dong-hyuk's series continues, and the third season, which will conclude the story, is expected to arrive sometime this summer or fall.
