Darlings, Jamtara, RRR: What India watched on Netflix in 2022

Alia Bhatt starrer Darlings witnessed the highest opening ever for any Netflix film in the country, the company stated in its year-end blogpost.

The Hindi language Netflix original film clocked a viewership of over 32 million viewing hours across 28 countries, it said. Monica, O My Darling, a Hindi neo-noir Netflix original entertainer, also topped the charts in seven countries including India in the first two weeks of its release.

Netflix stated that it released 27 original films and series in India in 2022 across more than 10 genres, of which 9 were films and the remaining 18 were television series.

It claimed that on an average, every Netflix film and series from India that was released this year trended in eight countries. Seven out of 9 films found a place in the weekly top 10 lists of the most watched films across the world, indicating the increased popularity of Indian content across the world.

The Hindi version of SS Rajamouli's period action film RRR remained on the global Top 10 list for most watched non-English films for 15 weeks, making it the longest-ever Indian title to feature on the list. Netflix stated that the movie has witnessed a viewership of over 73 million hours on its platform to date.

Read: How S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR lures us into its world

Hindi films Gangubai Kathiawadi (viewed for over 50 million hours) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (viewed for over 21 million hours) were among the other prominent films that gained popularity around the world, the company said.

In terms of television series, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein and the second seasons of returning shows Mismatched and Jamtara- Sabka Number Ayega were the most trending Indian series this year.

Read: For Netflix, Asia-Pacific drive subscriber growth in Q3

Top watched genre

Netflix stated that the top watched genre in local programming in India this year was thrillers, followed by action dramas and sports dramas. In terms of global programming, action dramas and thrillers was the top watched genre in the country.

Korean and Spanish were the most watched non-Indian languages on Netflix after English. Korean titles Squid Game and All Of Us Are Dead and Spanish title Money Heist were the most trending global titles in India.

"Five of our biggest English language series of all time premiered this year - Inventing Anna and Bridgerton S2, followed by Stranger Things S4, DAHMER: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Wednesday" Netflix stated in its blogpost.

"2022 was also the year of multiple formats - from series and films to standup comedy, true-crime documentaries and India’s first adventure interactive special Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls" it added.