Netflix subscribers watched a record more than 97 billion hours of content globally in the first half of 2026, while Indian films and series generated an unprecedented 688 million views on the platform, making it the country’s strongest-ever six-month performance on the streaming service, according to Netflix’s latest ‘What We Watched’ report.

The January-June 2026 report said India emerged as the biggest contributor to non-English film viewing and ranked third globally in overall film viewing, behind only the US and the UK, with four Indian titles — ‘Dhurandhar’, ‘Accused’, ‘Made in Korea’ and ‘Mardaani 3’ — featuring in Netflix’s Global Top 100 Films list.

Meanwhile, globally, fresh series, blockbuster films and non-English programming accounted for much of the engagement, according to the company’s latest ‘What We Watched’ report.

Netflix also said it will shift from publishing the report every six months to an annual snapshot beginning in the first quarter of 2027.

The report said five of the 10 most-watched series during the January-June period were new releases, underlining viewers’ appetite for original programming.

‘His & Hers’ topped the global charts with 104 million views, followed by ‘Bridgerton Season 4’ with 100 million views. New releases ‘I Will Find You’ logged 64 million views, while South Korean series ‘Teach You a Lesson’ reached 48 million views less than a month after its debut. Other strong performers included ‘Run Away’ with 50 million views and ‘Nemesis Season 1’ with 33 million views.

Returning franchises continued to fuel discovery across earlier seasons. Netflix said the launch of ‘Bridgerton Season 4’nearly tripled viewing of previous instalments, including ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’, compared with the second half of 2025, taking the franchise’s combined viewership to 180 million.

Earlier seasons of ‘ONE PIECE’, ‘The Night Agent’, ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ and ‘Virgin River’ also enjoyed significant increases in viewing.

Original films remained a major draw across genres. ‘War Machine’ emerged as Netflix’s biggest film of the half with 147 million views, ahead of ‘The Rip’ at 136 million, ‘Swapped’ at 131 million, ‘Apex’ at 129 million and ‘Thrash’ at 100 million.

The company said animated films continued to gain traction, with ‘Swapped’ on course to become its second most-watched original animated film ever, while ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ added another 130 million views more than a year after its release.

Book adaptations such as ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ and ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’, along with romantic comedies ‘Office Romance’ and ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’, also attracted large audiences.

Netflix said non-English titles accounted for more than one-third of all viewing during the period, with productions from South Korea, Japan, Spain, India and several other markets performing strongly.

South Korea delivered hits including ‘Teach You a Lesson’, ‘Can This Love Be Translated?’, ‘The Art of Sarah’, ‘Bloodhounds Season 2’ and ‘My Royal Nemesis’.

Spain contributed titles such as ‘Firebreak’, ‘The Marked Woman’, ‘Berlín and the Lady with an Ermine’ and ‘Oasis Season 1’, while Japan registered strong viewing with ‘Straight to Hell Season 1’ and ‘Sins of Kujo Season 1’.

The report also highlighted broad audience interest beyond scripted entertainment. Live programming drew strong audiences through events such as ‘The Roast of Kevin Hart’, ‘BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG’ and ‘Skyscraper Live’.

More than half of Netflix members watched at least one anime title, with ‘BAKI-DOU: The Invincible Samurai Season 1’, ‘STEEL BALL RUN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’ and ‘Cosmic Princess Kaguya!’ emerging as breakout titles.

Documentaries including ‘The Crash’, ‘The Dinosaurs Season 1’ and ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model Season 1’ also generated substantial viewership.

Children’s and family programming continued to perform strongly, with ‘Ms. Rachel’ becoming Netflix’s most-watched kids’ title at 69 million views across two seasons.

Other popular family offerings included ‘Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs’, ‘Salish & Jordan Matter’ and ‘Danny Go! Season 1’.

Netflix said the breadth of viewing across genres and languages underscored the importance of offering a diverse catalogue that appeals to different tastes and audiences worldwide.

Indian films — the Ranveer Singh-led ‘Dhurandhar’, courtroom drama ‘Accused’, Tamil title ‘Made in Korea’ and Yash Raj Films’ cop thriller ‘Mardaani 3’, starring Rani Mukerji — featured in Netflix’s Global Top 100 Films list.