Although Netflix has long since proven itself one of the most successful streaming platforms in the entertainment industry, its stranglehold on the market has undeniably slipped in recent years. Since pivoting to streaming, Netflix has been something of a trailblazer in the realm of modern entertainment, and its model has facilitated the release of several noteworthy movies and TV shows that have been wildly successful. The platform continues to boast impressive viewership figures, with this success leading to Netflix making expensive original movies to release exclusively. The latest movie to make major waves on Netflix has already begun to have an impact on the platform’s 2025 viewership charts.
Based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel of the same name, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein was one of 2025’s most anticipated movies, and its debut success on Netflix indicates that it’s already one of the platform’s biggest movies of the year. The latest TUDUM weekly chart puts its debut in Netflix’s top 5 for the year. This has seen Guillermo del Toro’s movie displace one of 2025’s most shocking films on Netflix, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, which has slipped down to number 6. Though Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein always seemed likely to succeed, its swift rise marks it as one of Netflix’s top releases of 2025.
The release of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein on Netflix comes after its limited theatrical release on October 17. It landed on Netflix on November 7 and quickly earned major viewship figures. In theory, its streaming success was likely dampened by the theatrical release, which afforded especially keen viewers a chance to experience the movie ahead of its arrival on Netflix. In that context, Frankenstein’s place on Netflix’s top 5 is especially impressive.
The success of Frankenstein indicates a few interesting points that Netflix could learn from. First, the release of a more serious movie with a star-studded cast and an acclaimed director has drawn some serious buzz, especially in comparison to many of Netflix’s other original movies. Perhaps more substantially, the interest in the movie ahead of its release was aided by a better marketing campaign than other Netflix movies, even if Frankenstein’s marketing was still somewhat underwhelming. These factors have influenced del Toro’s Frankenstein and its early success in a way that Netflix may hopefully see as a path to new original content.
Many Netflix original movies have found success on the streaming platform, but very few of them have been taken seriously in the wider world of film. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is something of an outlier, as it marks a different approach to the release of a Netflix movie. Its place on the platform’s top 5 debuts of 2025 indicates that there is both an audience ready for more cinematic Netflix projects and that a theatrical release can serve to increase interest in watching the movie on streaming. Whether Frankenstein will force Netflix to reconsider its approach to original movies remains to be seen, but it having bumped 2025’s most shocking documentary off the platform’s top 5 is already a considerable coup.
