These are the five most-watched movies on Netflix in 2021 so far

Rory Cashin

We’re sensing a running theme here…

Thanks to the pandemic, it feels like we’ve all watched every last thing there is to offer on Netflix.

The folks behind the decisions of what is added to the streaming service’s library are always adding new stuff, some of great, some of it not-so-great, but in the almost half-year we’ve had so far, some of it has proven to be a lot more popular than others.

Four of the top spots are taken up by Netflix Originals, while four are also family-friendly releases. As broken down by the folks over at Forbes, here are the top five most-watched movies on Netflix this year so far…

1. We Can Be Heroes

With a surprisingly high score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes (the 51% on Metacritic feels more accurate), this was released on Netflix on Christmas Day, and has remained in the top spot ever since. Of course, having something that whole family can watch over the Christmas and New Year’s break was always going to give it that extra push, but the fact that it features young kids saving the world means that it is likely on repeat in millions on homes around the world.

2. The Secret Life Of Pets 2

First released in cinemas in 2019, where it proceeded to make just under half the amount the first movie did, it seems like Pets 2 has found its true home on Netflix. The plot continues to pretty much be “What if Toy Story, but pets??”, but thanks to the stacked cast – including Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart, and Harrison Ford – having a blast, it makes it a very easy watch.

3. The Mitchells vs. The Machines

This might be our favourite movie of 2021 so far, so it is great to see it get the audience that it deserved. Initially due for a cinematic release in early 2020, Sony sold the rights to Netflix for a reported $110 million, and from the response it has received, it was worth every penny.

4. Thunder Force

From maybe the best movie of the year, to maybe the worst. 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, we said all we needed to say about this unfunny, joke-free comedy in our review. Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Jason Bateman, you all deserve much better than this.

5. Yes Day

We like to imagine that the initial title for this was “Family Movie”, because it seems to possess genetically-modified, designed-in-a-lab levels of family movie plot points. It did feel almost torturous to present a movie about a family saying yes to everything for day at a time when most families couldn’t leave their homes, but we suppose it did create a certain amount of wish-fulfillment.