‘We Can Be Heroes’ Might Just Be The Most Popular Netflix Movie Ever

On today’s Top 10 charts, We Can Be Heroes finished in fifth place—a modest showing for the family-friendly superhero movie from the mind of Robert Rodriguez.

But here’s the thing: this is the 50th consecutive day We Can Be Heroes has placed on the Top 10 list. Only two other movies have pulled off that feat. And very soon, Rodriguez’s film could be in a class that is entirely its own.

Basically what I’m saying is: We Can Be Heroes might be the most successful movie in Netflix
NFLX
history.

Of course, we don’t know that for sure. Netflix keeps a notably tight wrap on its viewership numbers and only releases data when it’s looking to market a certain show or movie. But thanks to my points-based ranking system, I know for certain that no other show has dominated the Top 10 quite like We Can Be Heroes has over the past two months.

The points system is simple. A show earns points based on its Top 10 placement each day. I keep track of where each movie and show places on the daily charts and dole out points accordingly. I then add up those points over a longer period of time and see which movies and shows have had the most success.

And as I said before: almost no other show has been on the Top 10 list for this long. The only two other shows that have streaks longer than 50 days are The Grinch with 56 days and How the Grinch Stole Christmas with 51 days—two streaks that were achieved during Christmastime in 2020. We Can Be Heroes is in great shape to surpass both of those films, considering the superhero movie has retained a fifth-place spot this late into its run.

We Can Be Heroes has collected a total of 336 points during its 50-day Netflix stint, which ranks as the third-most points any film has ever earned during the Top 10 era. The only two movies that rank ahead of Rodriguez’s latest creation are The Grinch with 349 points and Despicable Me with 428 points.

It’ll be interesting to see if We Can Be Heroes has enough lasting power to catch up with Despicable Me, which made the Top 10 list on 111 different occasions in 2020 before the animated classic exited the Netflix platform.

And that may very well be the case. We Can Be Heroes has seen the first-place position on the daily charts on ten different occasions—which is only the fifth-highest total ever. While that total trails behind Spenser Confidential’s 18 days in the #1 position, We Can Be Heroes has also managed to have stronger legs and remain popular for a longer period of time. So while We Can Be Heroes’s run hasn’t been as showy, it’s definitely been a lot more impressive when you read the numbers.

And even once We Can Be Heroes exits the Top 10, Rodriguez’s film could very well make it’s way back onto the charts just like Netflix’s other family-friendly programs like Despicable Me and The Grinch.

Essentially: we don’t know anything for certain yet. But if We Can Be Heroes keeps this up, then we will witness a movie dominate the world’s most popular streaming platform like no other film has been able to in the height of the streaming era—now that’s a feat worth watching.