Netflix’s New Apocalypse Movie Debuts Atop Their Global Top 10 Chart

Leave the World Behind has debuted with a high rank on the Netflix chart. The new movie, which was written and directed by Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail, stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, and Kevin Bacon. Based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel of the same name, it follows a family whose idyllic Long Island vacation is shattered when a cyberattack kicks off an apocalyptic scenario.

Netflix has now calculated their Top 10 English-language movies for the week of December 4 through December 10. The Leave the World Behind movie has claimed the No. 1 spot on the chart, above other popular Netflix originals such as Leo and Family Switch. The new movie has accumulated 98.7 million hours viewed thanks to 41.7 million viewers.

Leave the World Behind Was Already Poised to Become a Hit

The fact that this adaptation of the Leave the World Behind book became a hit isn’t entirely a surprise. The movie bears a strong similarity to Netflix’s apocalyptic 2018 movie Bird Box, which was also based on a book and starred an Oscar-winning actor. When that movie debuted, also during the holiday season, it quickly became the streaming platform’s most-watched movie premiere ever, a title it held until the release of the star-studded action-comedy Red Notice in 2021.

The new movie has also premiered during a time when apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic media have been enduringly popular. In 2023 alone, the apocalyptic television titles The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Last Of Us, and Twisted Metal have found success. While the subgenre has been less prominent in theaters, M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, which follows a family being informed that the death of one of their number is instrumental in preventing the apocalypse, more than doubled its budget at the box office earlier in the year.

The Leave the World Behind cast could also be strongly influencing its success. The movie features two Oscar winners (Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali), a four-time Oscar nominee (Ethan Hawke), and an Emmy nominee (Kevin Bacon). Combining an intriguing roster of talent with an apocalyptic scenario seems to have been the key to the movie’s success on the platform.