One of the biggest game-changers in the growth of streaming has been the influx of Hollywood talent to the small screen. This happens in the form of original prestige TV series, direct-to-streaming feature length films, and recent theatrical releases moving to SVOD and AVOD platforms. These kinds of programs regularly top the streaming chart on the Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report, and the week of September 25 to October 1 is a great case study.
“Reptile,” a feature-length detective thriller starring and co-written by Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, tops the chart this week. The movie, which also stars Justin Timberlake and Alicia Silverstone, was seen by 1.4 million households in just three days since its release on Sept. 29. Hispanic households drove that weekend viewership, as the demo over-indexed by 18%.
The Wrap Report provides an exclusive first look at the most watched movies and TV series from the past week across both streaming and linear television sourced from viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households drawn from over 25 million connected TVs, balanced to the U.S. Census.
A dynamic Disney+ duo occupies the next two spots, succeeding by bringing Star Wars and Pixar to the small screen. The Star Wars series “Ahsoka” remains in second this week with its penultimate episode. In fact, “Ahsoka” has firmly planted itself in the top half of the charts for each of its seven episodes thus far.
Meanwhile, “Elemental,” which has performed exceptionally well on the small screen, has been in the top three most watched streaming programs since it was added to the Disney+ library. It ranks third this week, down from the top spot last week.
The rest of the top 10 is dominated by Netflix, save for one entry: “Only Murders in the Building,” the Hulu hit that has repeatedly made its way to the charts throughout its third season and was just renewed for a fourth season. The season finale, which was added to Hulu on October 3, is in seventh this week.
Now, onto the Netflix fare. The dating show “Love Is Blind” returned for its fifth season on September 29, and it landed in fourth this week. Meanwhile, “Virgin River” continues to be a massive hit, albeit falling two spots to come in fifth this week.
The Spanish-language survival thriller “Nowhere” continues Netflix’s streak of creating big hits out of international programming. It debuts in sixth. “The Machine,” a comedy released in theaters earlier this year, is eighth.
Two docuseries close out the top 10: the true crime series “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” slipped from fourth to ninth this week, and “Encounters,” on UFOs made its debut in tenth.
Over on linear, the top 10 is once again dominated by contests, reality, and “Yellowstone,” along with a brand new scripted series sneaking in. That lone new series is “The Irrational,” a crime drama on NBC. Its second episode is the tenth most watched program this week.
Meanwhile, “The Voice” came roaring out of the gates for its 24th season, claiming the first and third sports this week. It’s setting up a contest of talent competitions, as it knocked “America’s Got Talent” out of the top spot – a place that “Talent” held for 11 of the past 12 weeks. Not to be outdone, “Talent’s” three episodes are second, fifth, and sixth this week.
Continuing with old favorites returning, the premiere of Season 32 of “Dancing With the Stars” put the long-running contest in fourth place, while the start of “Survivor’s” 45th season drew enough viewership to place it in ninth. “The Golden Bachelor,” a new spin on the classic show, was eighth this week, and “Yellowstone,” which is airing in reruns on CBS this fall, was seventh.
Cole Strain is the vice president of measurement products at Samba TV, a WrapPRO partner. Click here for more data and analysis from Samba TV.
