Given the records stranger things has been set since its fourth season premiere, another one isn’t much of a surprise. But the new hit of the Netflix series is a big one.
stranger things accumulated 7.2 billion minutes of watch time for the week of May 30-June 5, according to Nielsen — the highest weekly total for any streaming title since the advent of weekly rankings nearly two years ago. It also has the highest two-week count for any streaming show: the week of May 23-29, when season four of stranger things premiered, it had 5.14 billion minutes of viewing for a total of two weeks of 12.34 billion minutes.
Previously, no streaming show, measured by Nielsen, had ever reached 6 billion minutes in one week, let alone 7 billion. Nothing but tiger king (twice) and Ozarks in the spring of 2020 – amid pandemic lockdowns – had been reached 5 billion minutes earlier stranger things†
Nielsen counts all episodes of a series toward the total streaming ranking, but it’s likely that the vast majority of the 7.2 billion minutes came from the seven episodes of season four that aired on May 27. The viewing service had previously noted that more than 75 percent of the show’s 5.14 billion minutes during the week of May 23-29 came from season four.
stranger things has also become the most-watched English-language series on Netflix, according to the company’s internal statistics. The streamer says its subscribers watched more than 930 million hours worldwide in the first 28 days of season four.
Disney+s Obi-Wan Kenobi also had a strong second week with 958 million minutes of watch time, almost equal to the 1.03 billion for the premiere week. The boys also re-entered the top 10 after debuting its third season on June 3; the Prime Video series had 919 million minutes of watch time.
The CWs All American also scored with the Netflix release of the fourth season, easily leading the acquired series chart with 1.25 billion minutes of watch time. HBO Max also makes its chart-topping debut, with The Big Bang Theory (352 million minutes) and friends (346 million) in the top 10 of acquired shows.
Nielsen’s streaming ratings are for viewing on TV sets only and not for minutes viewed on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure US audiences, not other countries, and currently only include Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video.
Nielsen’s top streaming series for May 30 – June 5 are below.
original series
1. stranger things (Netflix), 7.2 billion minutes viewed
two. The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), 966 million
3. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+), 958 million
Four. The boys (Prime video), 919 million
5. Ozarks (Netflix), 644 million
6. Wrong side of the tracks (Netflix), 291 million
7. Grace and Frankie (Netflix), 271 million
8. night sky (Prime video), 242 million
9. working moms (Netflix), 215 million
10. Floor is lava (Netflix), 214 million
Acquired Series
1. All American (Netflix), 1.25 Billion Minutes
two. NCIS (Netflix), 692 million
3. cocomelon (Netflix), 615 million
Four. criminal minds (Netflix), 558 million
5. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 438 million
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 388 million
7. supernatural (Netflix), 367 million
8. Foreigner (Netflix), 364 million
9. The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max), 352 million
10. friends (HBO Max), 346 million