Netflix has revealed the viewing figures for Bird Box and You – and it’s a staggering reflection of how we’ve all been talking about them.
You, which stars Penn Badgley as homicidal antihero Joe Goldberg, is reportedly on course to be viewed by a huge 40 million households in its first month of release.
The show, which debuted on December 26 2018, has divided opinion among viewers, who are split by the romantic and murderous side to Goldberg’s character.
It comes after the show previously aired on the US channel Lifetime where it attracted an average of 1.1 million viewers every week.
But those figures were blown out of the water by Bird Box, which scored a staggering 80 million views in the first four weeks after its release on December 21 2018.
Other hits included Sex Education, which is also on course to score 40 million viewers in its first month of release.
“We are beginning to have our original movie offering mirror the success of our series offering for consumer enjoyment,” said Netflix in a statement to shareholders.
“As a result of our success with original content, we’re becoming less focused on 2nd run programming.”
The success of Bird Box comes after a series of controversies hit the film, including the use of real life disaster footage and a dangerous craze inspired by it.
The ‘Bird Box Challenge’ has seen users undertaking a series of tasks while blindfolded, in a bid to emulate the events of the film.