Karol G. Courtesy of Netflix ©2025
Welcome to another big Netflix top 10 report where we’ll be recapping the debuts of all the big new shows and movies from last week, including Vince Vaughn’s Nonnas and the new teen-romance series Forever, plus international releases like the new Karol G doc and others.
Note: In this report of Netflix’s hours viewed from May 5th, 2025, to May 11th, 2025, we’ll use “Complete Viewings Equivalent,” or CVE, expressed in millions. That means we divide the hours viewed announced by Netflix by the runtime of films or series. It allows for better comparisons between films and series, but it’s not an audience metric. It is the minimum number of viewings if they were all complete from the first second to the last of the film or season.
1. Exterritorial in week 2
This week, the German film Exterritorial continues to soar, surpassing Havoc, and has already landed in the all-time Top 10 in just 12 days. How high can it go? The top three spots seem a bit out of reach, but Nowhere’s fourth place is within striking distance!
2. Last Bullet
Last Bullet, the third and final chapter in the high-octane adventures of one of the most successful French Netflix film sagas, came crashing onto Netflix last week — and its launch is off to a strong start. It’s very much in line with the debut of Lost Bullet 2, suggesting minimal drop-off in fans between the two films, despite the time gap.
The fact that it’s the third installment in a film saga is both a blessing and a burden: on one hand, it can rely on its fanbase to show up in force at launch (that’s the blessing), but on the other, it risks a sharp drop-off once that core audience has been tapped out. Fortunately for Last Bullet, the first two films re-entered the weekly Top 10 this week — a clear sign that subscribers are (re)watching the entire trilogy.
3. Bad Influence
Do we have a fourth contender for the international all-time Top 10 this year? The Spanish film Bad Influence is undoubtedly making a strong case — with 16.9M CVEs in its first three days, it’s already nipping at the heels of the French film Ad Vitam, which currently sits in 7th place. What’s going on at Netflix right now for U.S. films to be flopping while international titles are crushing it?
4. Nonnas
The delightful little film Nonnas, starring Vince Vaughn, takes the top spot in the English-language Top 10 this week — but more due to a lack of competition than genuine breakout success, as it posted the weakest opening for a U.S. Netflix film this year with just 15.3M CVEs in its first three days. Personally, I loved it — a sweet, heartwarming treat that stirs the appetite and warms the soul.
5. Forever
Forever, adapted from a Judy Blume novel, clearly wasn’t built for strong international appeal, and the numbers reflect that. With just 3.7M CVEs in its first four days, it ranks among the weakest debuts for a U.S. series this year. Still, it managed to break into the Top 10, and the critical reception has been very positive, so that’s something in its favor.
I was, however, shocked to see that it is not labeled as a limited series, meaning this series now faces a very possible threat of cancellation with such a low start. It’s not a very expensive series by the look of it and its showrunner Mara Brock Akil said that she left an open-ended conclusion to the first season in the hopes of a second season but with that kind of starting numbers, if it’s to be renewed, it will not be on its viewership alone. I’m also guessing most of the book has been adapted in season 1, so a second season that would keep the characters but evolve past the events of the book seems like a long shot.
6. A Deadly American Marriage
The true crime documentary A Deadly American Marriage is also off to an excellent start, pulling in nearly 10 million EVCs over its first three days — making it the second-best launch for a documentary released on a Friday, a day Netflix is increasingly favoring for this type of release, instead of Wednesday.
7. Karol G: Tomorrow was Beautiful
I don’t know if you’re familiar with the singer Karol G, but she clearly has her share of fans — the music documentary dedicated to her pulled in 7.8M CVEs in its first four days, coming close to setting the record for the best launch of a Latin American documentary released on a Thursday. That’s five times more than the one about Brazilian singer Larissa/Anitta, for example. (I’m not trying to start a war of fandoms, I swear.)
8. The Royals
Netflix appears to have placed a big bet on the Indian series The Royals. With 3M CVEs in its first three days, it now holds the record for the best launch of an Indian series released on a Friday, well ahead of Aranyak and Dabba Cartel. Its future looks relatively secure, and a renewal announcement seems likely.
That’s all for this week, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.
