Netflix’s February 2026 top 10 reveals a split personality: prestige true crime and campy horror sharing space with Adam Sandler’s latest bid for critical respectability. The week of February 3-9 shows The Rip maintaining its stranglehold, M3GAN 2.0 proving sequels can improve, and an unexpected documentary about competitive dog grooming charming global audiences. Here’s your data-driven breakdown of what the world watched.
#1: The Rip (73.2 million views)
The Australian true crime limited series The Rip—detailing the 1990s Frankston serial killer case—remains Netflix’s global #1 for a third consecutive week. The 6-episode series, starring Guy Pearce and Essie Davis, accumulated 73.2 million views (defined as total hours watched divided by runtime), making it the platform’s most-watched Australian original since Clickbait (2021).
The numbers are staggering: 438 million total hours streamed, with 34% of viewership coming from the United States despite zero American characters. True crime’s universal language—suspense, justice, voyeurism—transcends geography. Netflix has already greenlit The Rip: Aftermath, a companion documentary featuring actual survivor interviews.
Critics debate the ethics: The Guardian called it “trauma tourism with better lighting,” while The Sydney Morning Herald praised its victim-centered narrative. Either way, 73.2 million viewers made their choice.
#2: M3GAN 2.0 (58.9 million views)
The killer doll sequel dropped February 6 and immediately captured 58.9 million views—27% higher than the original M3GAN‘s 2023 opening weekend (46.2 million). Allison Williams returns as Gemma, now battling a military-grade M3GAN upgrade (Amie Donald, with Jenna Davis voicing) designed for combat applications.
Director Gerard Johnstone expanded the budget from $12 million to $28 million, and it shows: the robot fights involve practical animatronics enhanced by CGI rather than pure computer generation. The “slay” factor—M3GAN’s viral dance sequences—return with TikTok-optimized choreography that generated 800,000 user videos within 48 hours.
Horror sequels historically decline (average -40% from originals), but M3GAN 2.0‘s 58.9 million suggests franchise potential. Netflix reportedly paid $130 million for exclusive streaming rights, betting on meme culture over critical consensus (currently 71% Rotten Tomatoes).
#3: The Unbreakable Boy (41.3 million views)
The faith-based drama starring Zachary Levi surprised analysts with 41.3 million views, targeting the Heartland demographic Netflix usually ignores. Based on a true story about a boy with autism and brittle bone disease, the film’s performance suggests untapped religious market potential.
#4-5: Adam Sandler’s Paternity Leave (38.7 million) / The Gorge (34.2 million)
Sandler’s dramedy about a stand-up comedian discovering he’s father to triplets continues his Netflix dominance (18 films since 2014). Paternity Leave‘s 38.7 million views prove audiences prefer “Sad Sandler” (The Meyerowitz Stories, Hustle) over “Silly Sandler” (Murder Mystery sequels).
The Gorge, despite its $200 million budget and Miles Teller/Anya Taylor-Joy pairing, slipped to #5 with 34.2 million—below projections but sufficient for profitability given streaming’s global reach. Director Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange) reportedly begins work on The Gorge 2 regardless.
Best in Show (28.4 million)
Positioned at #6, Best in Show (not the 2000 mockumentary, but a new docuseries about Westminster Dog Show grooming teams) captured 28.4 million views. The trend echoes Cheer (2020) and Last Chance U—niche competition subcultures generating universal empathy. Expect “poodle perm” think pieces by March.
Regional Variations: What Countries Watched
- India:The Rip dominated (45% of viewership), but local thriller Kohrra Season 2 placed #3
- Brazil:M3GAN 2.0 topped charts, with dubbed versions outperforming subtitles 3:1
- South Korea:The Gorge reached #2, driven by Anya Taylor-Joy’s local popularity
- Nigeria: Nollywood original Lagos Vice entered top 10 for first time, signaling Netflix’s African content investment paying dividends
The Algorithm’s Winners
Netflix’s recommendation engine prioritized The Rip for users who watched Mindhunter or Unbelievable, while M3GAN 2.0 targeted horror-comedy viewers of Happy Death Day and Freaky. Cross-pollination between true crime and horror fandoms—both seeking controlled fear—drove unusual double-feature viewing patterns.
Total global viewing hours for February 3-9: 1.2 billion. Average session length: 2.3 hours, suggesting binge-watching remains Netflix’s core behavior despite competition from TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
Netflix Top 10 this week proves the platform’s dominance in February 2026: true crime for prestige, killer dolls for virality, Adam Sandler for comfort, and random documentaries for discovery. The streaming wars may be over. Netflix won.
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