GTA VI Extended Look tops Netflix's weekly chart with 31.1 million views
Netflix says Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look was the most-watched English film from August 24 to 30, with 31.1 million views and the No. 1 spot in 87 of 93 countries.
Rockstar's 27-minute Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look was the most-watched English film on Netflix in the week of August 24-30, according to Netflix's own Top 10 data. It drew 31.1 million views and reached No. 1 in 87 of the 93 countries Netflix tracks.
Netflix described the result in a statement quoted by Insider Gaming:
Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look topped the English film list with 31.1M views and hit No. 1 in 87 of the 93 countries tracked globally. Captured entirely from in-game footage on PlayStation 5, the 27-minute extended look gives fans the most in-depth reveal yet...
The video only arrived on Thursday, so those numbers come from four days, not a full week. GamesRadar+ says that was enough to make it the most-watched title anywhere on Netflix that week, and estimates the total at around 14 million hours of viewing.
How it compares
IGN points out that the second-placed English film, The Whisper Man, starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan, finished on 23.2 million views despite having the whole week. The other lists were lower too: Death of the Pastor's Wife led the TV chart with 19 million views, and Facing El Chapo led the non-English film list with 20.7 million.
It is not a Netflix record, though. GamesRadar+ notes that Stranger Things season 5 had 59.6 million views in its debut week.
The numbers also need some context. Netflix counts a view as total hours watched divided by runtime. As IGN explains, a household watching the 27-minute video twice counts the same as two households watching it once each. With a game trailer, people watching it again was always likely.
A rough premiere
According to Insider Gaming, Netflix crashed at one point on August 27, the day of the premiere. The Extended Look was exclusive to Netflix for a few hours, GamesRadar+ says, before it appeared elsewhere online, including Rockstar's YouTube channel. There it had 17 million views by the time IGN published its report.
IGN also reports that the Netflix deal was Rockstar's idea: the studio approached Netflix about the premiere, not the other way round.
Leaks and legal action
The premiere followed several leaks. Insider Gaming reports that Rockstar is working with Microsoft and Discord on legal action against the leaker.
