Korean film Ballerina #1 Most-Watched Non-English Film on Netflix – up from #3 last week

Ballerina climbs to the top of the Netflix chart for the week of October 9th through 15th

I will preface this by saying I did not enjoy the Korean action film Ballerina when I watched it on Netflix the day it was released.

The script is poorly written, the story is nonsensical, the characters are so one-dimensional I felt no connection to them at all and, while the action scenes were beautifully shot and the stunt work and the actors’ performances are superb, because I couldn’t empathize with a single character in the entire 90 minutes I stuck with Ballerina (playing at 1.5 speed, I must admit), even they left me mostly dead.

That is why I am slightly shocked that the latest Netflix figures are out for the streaming platform’s Top 10 shows and the Korean drama Ballerina is #1 on the Most-Watched Non-English Films chart on Netflix for the week of October 9th through October 15th.

Of course, I am explaining that to myself by saying most people who watched it probably did the same as me.

Viewed it at 1.5 speed with the hope it would eventually get better. Right?

How many hours was the Korean film Ballerina watched on Netflix?

All of the above being said, and who am I to judge other people’s enjoyment of something I did not like, it is now the second week Ballerina has been on the Netflix Top 10 chart, with the film performing even better during the current reported week as it jumped from the #3 spot to the #1.

According to Netflix, Ballerina also earned an impressive 14.7 million views last week to add to what it earned the week before.

That means the Korean film has been watched for a total of 23.1 million hours so far, and that’s massive for a pretty short film.

Ballerina is also in the Top 10 Most-Watched Non-English Films in 89 countries, which includes much of Europe and Asia, a huge percentage of North and South America, and New Zealand, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa and Nigeria.

The Korean film was written and directed by Lee Chung Hyun (The Call), and stars the excellent main cast of Jeon Jong Seo, Kim Ji Hoon, and Park Yoo Rim.

You can watch the 1 hour 32 minute film on Netflix now if you think it might be your thing. I am not going to stop you.

 

About Michelle Topham

Brit-American journalist based in Austria, former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I've covered K-drama, K-pop, J-pop, anime, manga and music news for over a decade.