More than 26 million Netflix subscribers viewed ‘The Irishman’ in seven days, chief content officer says

Netflix has a history of not publicizing many of its viewership metrics, but the company isn’t shying away from saying how many of its subscribers watched “The Irishman,” the Golden Globe-nominated mobster film.

More than 26 million global accounts (26,404,081, to be exact) watched at least 70% of “The Irishman” in the first seven days the film appeared on the Netflix platform, according to Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer. Sarandos spoke Tuesday at UBS’s Global TMT Conference in New York.

Netflix estimates more than 40 million accounts will watch the Martin Scorsese-directed film in the first 28 days, said Sarandos, who noted that it’s likely far more people have actually seen the movie because multiple viewers frequently watch simultaneously using one Netflix account.

Netflix hopes the popularity of “The Irishman” will spur more top content makers to sign deals with the streaming giant to showcase their best creative works. While director Martin Scorsese has implored “The Irishman” viewers not to watch the film on their phones, the shortened window between theatrical release and Netflix debut has allowed many people to view the film who probably wouldn’t have seen it if they had to go to a movie theater. Sarandos noted a night out to a movie theater in New York could cost close to $100 or more when including ticket prices, transportation and other incidentals.

“When you think about that, people understand the value proposition of a big new movie this week at Netflix,” said Sarandos at the UBS conference. “It translates into how they value Netflix.”

“The Irishman,” which stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, is a three-and-a-half hour long drama detailing the life of self-identified mob hitman Frank Sheeran. The movie had a limited theatrical debut on Nov. 1 and launched on Netflix on Nov. 27. “The Irishman” garnered a Golden Globe best drama nomination earlier this week.

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