Squid Game has become Netflix’s Most Popular Series Launch

A Netflix original series, Squid Game, has surpassed Bridgerton as the “biggest-ever series at launch.” Squid Game was released last month and has already become a worldwide sensation.

According to Netflix, the Korean series, in which debt-ridden players compete for a cash reward through a series of dangerous childhood games, has been watched by more than 111 million people. Netflix also stated that people watched at least 2 minutes of the show in its first four weeks.

In the first 28 days, 82 million households watched Netflix’s “Bridgerton.” Meanwhile, in a shorter amount of time, “Squid Game” eclipsed that figure.

In 90 different countries, Squid Game has been named number one on Netflix. It’s the first Korean series to ever hit No. 1 on Netflix in the United States.

However, the 111 million statistic does not imply that everyone watched the entire series. It is calculated using Netflix’s metric of accounts that have watched at least two minutes of the series.

“Today, Squid Game has broken through beyond our wildest dreams.” said Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s vice president of the Asia Pacific.

The series has also received positive reviews. It came out with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91 percent.

1. Squid Game – 111 million

2. Bridgerton, Season 1 – 82 million

3. Lupin, Part 1 – 76 million

4. The Witcher, Season 1 – 67 million

5. Sex/Life, Season 1 – 67 million

6. Stranger Things 3 – 67 million

7. Money Heist, Part 4 – 65 million

8. Tiger King, Season 1 – 64 million

9. The Queen’s Gambit – 62 million

10. Sweet Tooth, Season 1 – 60 million

In an Interview with Variety, Hwang Dong-hyuk, the film’s creator and director, says that he came up with the idea for Squid Game in 2008. However, due to its harsh undertones, Korean film studios declined to fund it.