Skip to content Confirming the trend revealed by its happy CEO, Ted Sarrandos a fortnight ago, Netflix announced in a tweet on Wednesday 13 October reached a record audience of 111 millions (number of accounts that watched at least two minutes) in less than a month with its new phenomenon series, south korean Squid Game – or the squid game, launched on 17 last september. It thus becomes the platform's biggest launch ever., previous records being held by Bridgerton with 82 millions, followed by Lupin and of The Witcher at 76 million each. Several articles in the American press, however, point out that the series had not yet integrated the Top 10 Streaming de Nielsen in the USA the week of 13 au 19 september, latest figures released, Nielsen having specified in his video commentary that Squid Game was not, then, only three days of operation on the platform, and that the buzz had gradually increased.
The authentically local, key to international success
“We have always believed that the most authentically local series can travel best” Congratulations Minyoung Kim, VP content , Netflix's Asia Pacific in an interview at Hollywood Reporter two days ago. She admits, however, that she did not anticipate a success of such magnitude., series like Kingdom et Sweet Home which has already worked particularly well in the past. “At the beginning we said to ourselves, ah, great, another hit , but that's all. And then I started getting messages from all over the world (…), we saw more and more posts on Instagram and TikTok, (..) and comedian Ho-yeon Jing's account rose from 400 000 followers at 14 million in a month! she says. “That may be what we are looking for, I would never have thought that a series in Korean, based on a Korean children's game, can race ahead and become our most popular series”.
A strong topic of conversation
Squid Game was originally a film project of 120 minutes, which was written by the director, Hwang Dong Hyeok, 10 years ago, but Netflix thought there was much more to it. The genre of the series was carrying, estime Minyoung Kim, citing as an example the success of game-based survival thrillers like Hunger Games “with the difference that these are often intended for young adults, which is not the case Squid Game ». She adds that the game element is addictive and contributes to binge watching. “The director has also made sure that the series remains accessible to those who are unfamiliar with Korean children's games.. He was careful to choose simple rules of the game, and I think this simplicity is one of the reasons for the success,” she says., adding that he also worked a lot on the staging and the visual aspect of the whole.
" Finally, we believe content that can spark conversations has the best chance of becoming big hits, or many moments in Squid Game are potential topics of conversation. It seems to me that the essence of the series is about social injustice, and this is a subject that does not only concern Korea,” she adds., indicating that the film Parasite, another Korean success internationally this time in the cinema, also focused on social differences.
His ambition was to show that K-drama, already popular in Asia, wasn't just about beautiful young people falling in love, she explains. “Now thanks to Squid Game, it is the whole world and not just K-drama fans who realize what Korean production is capable of.”
$500 million budget for Netflix in Korea, who was already digging his furrow in horror and fantasy
Netflix made a major effort in the region, having announced during its online showcase, See What’s Next: Korea, last February a production budget of around $500M just for 2021. The audience of Korean series has been crescendo on Netflix, the platform having already had the opportunity to congratulate itself in its press release 2020, of the tripling of K-drama ratings last year. Among the popular series were The King: Eternal Monarch the season 2 of Kingdom S2, or the zombie movie #Alive who ranked in the top 10 of 90 pays, all appealing more or less to the register of fantasy and horror. In the first quarter this year again, Netflix had also cited the science fiction film Space Sweepers among the most popular with an audience of 26 millions.
Note that Korean programs are currently on the rise in other registers, such as entertainment formats, with the international success of The Masked Singer.
Lire full interview with Minyoung Kim in the Hollywood Reporter
Read the article from 26 last february Netflix to Spend Nearly $500 Million on Korean Content This Year
Parrot Analytics table published on 5 october on the Axios website (and relayed by Parot) showing the very gradual audience curve of Squid Game compared to other non-US series on Netflix. (the scope of the data is not specified).
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