Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s well-reviewed indie rom-com movie starring currently hot leading man Glen Powell, drew 20.8 million streaming hours and 10.8 million views in its first three days on Netflix, playing in a limited number of Netflix territories.
The movie debuted in select U.S. theaters in May before dropping on Netflix on June 7 in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Iceland.
Despite the limited drop, Hit Man landed the No. 1 spot in Netflix’s latest English-language film rankings, covering the week of June 3-9. It was also the top English-language film title in the U.S. last week.
Hit Man re-teamed Linklater with Powell and Austin Amelio, who co-starred in the filmmaker's semi-autobiographical 2016 title Everybody Wants Some!!, a pre-Me-Too effort that recalled Linklater's experience moving into a house full of college baseball players as a Sam Houston State freshman pitcher in the late 1970s.
Hit Man casts Powell as a based-on-real-life college professor/part-time police electronics expert, who surprises local cops by displaying a unique talent as an undercover faux contract killer.
The movie's performance in a limited number of Netflix regions was on par with Powell’s last rom-com, Columbia Pictures title Anyone But You, which debuted theatrically in December and premiered on Netflix in April to 18.3 million viewing hours and 10.6 million views.
And considering its 97% critics score on film review website Rotten Tomatoes, Hit Man may yet grow its audience in its first full week on Netflix.
That’s what happened for Benedict Cumberbatch-led limited series Eric, which climbed to the No. 1 spot among Netflix’s English-language TV series with 54.3 million viewing hours and 10.1 million views.
The psychological thriller, which debuted three days into the May 27 - June 2 ranking window, garnered just 6.8 million views the week prior.
Less impressive on the TV series side was the third season of post-apocalyptic fantasy-drama Sweet Tooth, which debuted last week at the No. 5 spot, generating just 34.3 million viewing hours and 5.4 million views.
That was slightly lower than the second season of Sweet Tooth, which generated 48.3 million viewing hours when it debuted in April 2023.
Internationally, Netflix had a much stronger week.
French shark thriller Under Paris scored the No. 1 spot among the streamer’s international film rankings (and overall), with 70.9 million viewing hours and 40.9 million views.
The film, directed by Xavier Gens, follows a grieving scientist as she battles a giant shark that appears in the Seine, and some fans say the film takes inspiration from predecessor films like Jaws.
Netflix’s Spanish drama series Raising Voices also performed well last week, its second on the platform, landing the No. 1 spot among Netflix’s non-English series with 65.1 million viewing hours and 10.8 million views.
Based on the novel Ni Una Más by Miguel Sáez Carral, Raising Voices follows 17-year-old Alma (Nicole Wallace) as she navigates the aftermath of reporting sexual assault.
Last week also saw Netflix’s psychological thriller Baby Reindeer earn a spot among Netflix’s most popular TV series of all time, edging out previous No. 10 entry The Witcher.
In total, Baby Reindeer has generated 335.2 million engagement hours and 84.5 million views in its time on the streamer.
