Netflix, in a rare move for the streaming giant, said on Thursday that “Bird Box” has been viewed by 80 million accounts in the four weeks following its release.
The Sandra Bullock-led flick has also enjoyed “high repeat viewing,” according to the company’s letter to shareholders. The announcement comes weeks after Netflix — a company that typically reveals little viewing data — said “Bird Box” had set a seven-day viewing record for the company, pulling in 45 million views in its first week. (The film has also inspired the “Bird Box challenge,” where people attempt difficult tasks while blindfolded, prompting Netflix to essentially beg its viewers to stop participating.)
As TheWrap previously reported, Netflix counts a “view” for its movies as an account having watched at least 70 percent of the film’s runtime, including the credits. Because “Bird Box” is 124 minutes long, that meant Netflix was saying that more than 45 million different accounts watched at least 87 minutes of the drama.
For Netflix and other tech companies, including Facebook and Snap, “time spent on platform” is a key figure to investors, who prioritize growth over all else. However, when it comes to time spent on the platform, Netflix doesn’t release those numbers either — except for reporting in 2017 that its average viewing time on the platform had increased 9 percent from the prior year.
The announcement coincided with Netflix sharing its Q4 earnings on Thursday. The company added a record 8.8 million new paying subscribers during the quarter, although it fell slightly short of Wall Street’s estimates for new customers and quarterly revenue. Netflix shares dropped 4 percent in after-hours trading to $338 per share.