Only one thing can break Squid Games Netflix record now

Date:
Wed, 03 Aug 2022 10:59:58 +0000

Description:
Stranger Things season 4's viewership figures are in and they still don't come close to Squid Game.

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Its official: Squid Game is still the biggest Netflix series in history.

Not even the internet-breaking popularity of Stranger Things season 4 which became the most popular English-language Netflix show of all time and the first to rack up over one billion viewing hours in its first month of release
could dethrone Hwang Dong-hyuks dystopian survival drama, whose reign as the series supreme now seems assured for years to come.

Confirmation of Squid Games continued dominance comes after Stranger Things 28-day release window i.e. the period during which Netflix records and publishes viewership figures elapsed on July 29. All told, season 4 of the Duffer brothers beloved sci-fi show accrued 1.4 billion viewing hours, some 250 million shy of Squid Games record-setting 1.65 billion .

Naturally, 1.4 billion viewing hours equivalent to 160,000 years is still a mind-boggling figure for a series thats been around for six years. But Stranger Things failure to eclipse Squid Games record serves to further highlight the magnitude of the latters achievement.

For starters, Stranger Things got two bites of the cherry with its fourth season. Split into two parts episodes 1-7 and 8-9 the show enjoyed a rare 56-day window for racking up total viewership figures, versus Squid Games standard 28-day window. Granted, viewership of volume 1 no longer contributed to the series total after June 24, but volume 2 picked up the baton on July 1 and kept running until July 29. Stranger Things season 4 was split into two parts (Image credit: Netflix)

Whats more, Stranger Things extended release window was also buoyed by a much longer runtime than Squid Game. The latters nine episodes totaled approximately eight hours, while the formers nine episodes totaled an
almighty 13 hours (courtesy of two eye-wateringly lengthy final entries ).

Essentially, then, your watching the entirety of Stranger Things season 4 would have contributed more to its overall viewing total than completing an equivalent binge of Squid Game. Unfair, right?

And yet, Squid Game remains the biggest Netflix show of all time which begs the question: will anything topple the South Korean phenomenon? A familiar
foe

For our money, the only threat to Squid Games dominance of Netflix in the immediate future is Squid Game. Or more specifically, Squid Game season 2 .

But what about Stranger Things season 5 ? we hear you cry. Yes, the series fifth and final instalment is more-than-likely to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor by entering the Netflix billionaires club but Squid Games almighty record may yet remain elusive. Squid Game was watched for more than 182,000 years in its first month of release (Image credit: Netflix)

Consider just how popular Stranger Things season 4 became. The show had the internet and the global music charts in its grip for months on end. The likes of Vecna, Steve and Max were the subject of watercooler conversations the world over. Heck, Stranger Things made the return of the galaxys most famous Jedi look like a Friends rerun .

And it still couldn't topple Hwang Dong-hyuks survival series. Its also important to note that Stranger Things season 4 wasnt universally praised by audiences in quite the same way as the shows previous entries. Some fans were left frustrated by this season's overly long runtime and the Duffer brothers reluctance to kill off major characters , suggesting there may be a small drop-off in viewership for season 5.

So, despite Stranger Things enduring popularity, we dont think its fifth and final season nor any other Netflix movie or TV series, for that matter will come close to Squid Games success. If that 1.65 billion-hour record is ever going to be broken, the honor will belong to Squid Game season 2.

Incidentally, no release date has been set for Squid Games return just yet, but the shows creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, has teased a 2024 release following the completion of a new movie hes working on right now. Stay tuned to our Squid Game season 2 hub for all the latest news on its highly-anticipated arrival.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/only-one-thing-can-break-squid-games-netflix-re cord-now/


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