After ablockbuster theatrical runthat concluded with about as much controversy as commercial success, the Indian Hindi-language crime epicAnimalrecently landed on Netflix to an equally resounding reception. According to the streamer’s weekly top 10 list, which tabulates viewership figures across the service,Animalhasdelivered the top opening week figures for any Indian film on the platform.
The film debuted at number four on the global top 10 listin its first week, with 20.8 million viewing hours in total.Animaltrailed behind the Korean-language post-apocalyptic action movieBadland Hunters, the German-language action filmSixty Minutes, which is in its second week, and the Spanish-language Oscar-nominated survival dramaSociety of the Snow, which is now in its fourth week of release. Last year, the top opening week figures for a foreign-language film were delivered byTroll(75 million).
As far as Indian movies go, the recent Telugu-language hitSalaarracked up only 4.7 viewing hours in its first week, which isn’t a lot, considering its $85 million-plus theatrical run.The Archies, a Netflix original, generated only 5.2 million viewing hours during Christmastime last year. The record for the top one-week viewership on Netflix (for an Indian film) was previously held byJaane Jaan, the Hindi-language adaptation of the wildly popular Japanese novel “The Devotion of Suspect X.” StarringKareena Kapoor Khan, who incidentally happens to beAnimalstarRanbir Kapoor’s cousin,Jaane Jaanracked up 18.8 million viewership hours in its first week.
‘Animal’ Was One of the Top Grossing Indian Films of 2023
Directed bySandeep Reddy Vangaand clocking in at 201 minutes long,Animaldelivered the second-biggest opening day haul of 2023 at the Indian box office, andfinished its run as one of the biggest Bollywood films of all time, grossing over $110 million worldwide. The film’s success wasmarred by harsh criticismsurrounding its depiction of women, and its glorification of toxic masculinity. Reviews were generally poor, withAnimalsitting at a “rotten” 30% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes.
On Netflix, the controversial film joins an elite league. Kapoor’s romantic comedyTu Jhoothi Main Makkaargenerated 11.3 million viewership hours in week one after a moderately successful theatrical run last year. Meanwhile, the other top debuts for Indian films on Netflix were delivered byShah Rukh Khan’sJawan(14.9 million viewership hours in week one),Alia Bhatt’sGangubai Kathiawadi(13.8 million) andDarlings(10.2 million) and the recent spy dramaKhufiya(13.2 million). Most impressively,Animal’s opening week viewership has exceeded even that of 2022’s crossover hitRRR, which generated 7.1 million viewership hours in week one, before blowing up in its second week and raking in 18.3 million viewership hours. The period epic remained in the top 10 for several more weeks, and if historical trends are anything to go by,Animalmight post even bigger numbers in week two.
You can watch the movie on Netflix now, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
A father, who is often away due to work, is unable to comprehend the intensity of his son’s love. Ironically, this fervent love and admiration for his father and family creates conflict between the father and son.
