2025 was a huge year for Netflix and its movie roster, with a number of films garnering a staggering amount of overall views and watchtime on the streaming platform – though some are arguably better than others. Being one of the most-watched movies in a year on Netflix is a major achievement for any film, since garnering this much audience interest is a clear reflection of something going right for a release, even if it’s not always something that equates to the project in question being considered a total success.
Indeed, some of the most-watched movies of 2025 on Netflix were films that ended up with a more divided reception, either because the way they sought to pull in big audience numbers also made them too generic for some, or because of other factors that saw increased notoriety because of their increased number of views. As such, looking at the quality of and reception to Netflix’s top 10 most-watched 2025 movies is a fascinating affair.
Back In Action
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz’s 2025 action special is one that garnered very different review scores from critics and broader audiences, with the general public connecting more to the story of two CIA operatives who find themselves returned to action after living incognito as a family with two children for many years.
The public being more interested in Back In Action goes some way to explain the film’s streaming success on Netflix – becoming one of 2025’s most-watched movies – and underlines the movie’s strengths, since the interesting premise and consistent action of the release makes it a naturally engaging one. However, Back In Action also plays things very safe in the way it delves into the action genre, which has garnered it some criticism since its release as well.
The Secret Life Of Pets
The Secret Life Of Pets released back in 2016 to a reasonable level of critical success, with the animated movie getting a second lease of life on Netflix in 2025 that netted it one of the top 10 spots for the platform’s most-watched movies of the year.
This makes sense on a few levels, as the light comedy fare of The Secret Life Of Pets no doubt helped its popularity as a Netflix watch, and its playful look at what people’s pets could theoretically be up to while their owners are out of the house is a story that works for a broad and wide-reaching audience.
That said, what likely earned The Secret Life Of Pets its place in Netflix’s top 10 2025 movie roster also is in some ways to its partial detriment, as one of the primary criticisms about the movie is that it is one without too much in the way of further depth or engagement with its viewers, limiting the capacity for it to truly resonate as a result.
Despicable Me 3
Despicable Me 3 manages to be a relatively solid follow-up to the ever-popular animated movie series given its place in the franchise’s lineup. The third movie in a franchise’s running order tends to deal with extra complications in terms of balancing building a new path forward with keeping what has already worked thus far – without feeling like simply rehashing territory – which Despicable Me 3 can be seen to contend with.
Of course, the family-friendly nature of the story of a semi-reformed supervillain trying to be a family man while balancing his larger-than-life career is one that garnered popularity with a wide array of viewers, netting it tenth place in 2025’s most-watched movies on Netflix. That said, the fact this chapter also tries to introduce much more into its story may have been a proverbial thorn in its side to a degree.
While the movie did receive criticism about the way in which it tries to blend so much into its relatively short runtime – and is largely the lowest-rated release in the series – Despicable Me 3 is still an entry that those who already enjoyed the first two chapters of the franchise are likely to appreciate, and tees up the series for the more well-regarded Despicable Me 4, too.
Happy Gilmore 2
Happy Gilmore 2 holds a 62% critic review score and 64% review score on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a 6.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb, which collectively reflect the overall perception of the movie being generally considered a touch above the net average kind of film.
Building on the original 1996 Happy Gilmore – which itself gained some notable popularity and a cult following – it’s no surprise the 2025 sequel followed suit with its own streaming success, particularly as the movie’s story of its titular protagonist and unlikely golf champion returning to the sport after a period of tragedy in his life works well to make the series a must-watch for fans of the original.
Havoc
Placing Tom Hardy as a hardened detective forced to deal with the criminal underworld and uncover a conspiracy in order to rescue the son of a politician is a story setup that seems in some ways destined to garner some form of success, meaning the film’s place in 2025’s top 10 most-watched movie list makes a lot of sense with this context in mind.
That said, Havoc appears to have garnered more appreciation from critics than from the general public – which is interesting, as the opposite is usually true broadly speaking for Netflix action movies. Ultimately, director Gareth Evans’ history with the likes of action hits such as The Raid: Redemption does appear to have led to comparisons between these films and Havoc, oftentimes not in the 2025 film’s favor.
However, Havoc is still an entertaining action flick, and its place in 2025’s most-viewed Netflix movies does reflect the value it possesses in this regard. Similarly, the film also has some bonus intrigue in that it’s been said to be one of the biggest movies ever to be shot primarily in Wales.
Straw
Straw is one of the darker movies that earned itself a place on Netflix’s 2025 most-watched movie list, as it follows the life of a woman who finds herself pushed by a series of tragic events to eventually hold up a bank at gunpoint – though this situation is even more complex than it initially appears.
The grim tone throughout much of Straw – which sees its protagonist, Janiyah, go through some substantial suffering in order to reach her “final straw” – did draw some criticism from those who felt the film went too bleak in terms of its story. That said, Straw garnered largely positive reviews, and its somber look at many modern-day struggles makes it an easy story to be invested in and to be emotionally affected by.
Exterritorial
Exterritorial is a 2025 German action thriller that drew substantial intrigue when it arrived on Netflix due to its unusual premise, wherein a woman’s child goes missing while they’re both in the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, leading her to be forced to track him down, and solve the mystery of what caused his disappearance.
This netted the movie a twelve-week stint at the number one position in Netflix’s weekly movie charts, and a lasting record as the seventh most-watched film of 2025 on the platform. However, Exterritorial still received its own share of criticisms, with parts of its story challenging the capacity of some viewers’ ability to suspend their disbelief thanks to the action movie rules the film can be seen to operate by.
The Life List
The Life List‘s emotional and heartwarming nature is something that naturally ties into the film’s core concept, wherein the protagonist, Alex, finds herself challenged with completing a series of tasks she wrote down herself as a teen about what she wanted from her life in order to obtain her inheritance from her recently-deceased mother.
What unfolds from there is a layered and endearing rom-com drama that won the hearts of many – as evidenced by its 6.8 IMDb rating and 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it is interesting to note that the film’s critic score is notably lower on Rotten Tomatoes – coming in at 46% – reflecting the ways in which the clichés and tropes the film delves into seem to have lost a portion of this demographic.
Despicable Me 4
While Despicable Me 4 builds on one of the less well-reviewed releases in the series, its own reception is even more positive – which may explain why Despicable Me 4 was the seventh most-watched movie on Netflix of 2025, whereas Despicable Me 3 was the tenth.
Despicable Me 4‘s exploration of the way main character Gru’s history as a villain continues to make his life challenging feels like a logical way to continue the hijinks of the franchise, and the installment is able to more easily blend its various plotlines together via a story that involves all the family in their own major moments, further explaining why the fourth movie in the Despicable Me series did so well in 2025’s Netflix roster.
KPop Demon Hunters
Anyone who has been aware of KPop Demon Hunters‘ dazzling rise to the very top of Netflix’s all-time streaming charts will have likely been able to guess that the film is the top of 2025’s Netflix movie most-watched list both in terms of view time, and in terms of quality.
The replay value that has helped build the animated movie’s streaming stronghold is forged through a careful blend of a massively detailed world and story, and the effort taken to ensure the narrative works as well during its action scenes and its emotional dialogue as it does during its songs – with all of these elements combining together to make a story that can connect with anyone from any walk of life.
Moving into 2026, it will be interesting to see if any other film is capable of breaking the grip KPop Demon Hunters has on the title of Netflix‘s most-watched movie, and if whatever film becomes 2026’s most-watched release will be able to compare up to the story of the demon hunting band when it comes to both the movie’s number of views, and its overall quality.
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