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Here are the most-watched movies and TV shows on Netflix this year

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Netflix has unveiled its list of the most-watched movies and TV shows from the past year, giving us insight in to the most popular original titles on the streaming giant.

With more than 158 million subscribers worldwide, it’s no surprise many of their original projects have upwards of 50 million viewers.

Netflix – who monitor and release their own viewership data independantly – say that a “view” counts so long as someone watched 70% of either a movie or an episode of a series within four weeks of its premiere.

The streaming service has released its Top 10 original movies and TV shows by viewers, from the period of October 2018, to September 2019.

Stranger Things took out the number one spot in the Top Television Series list with 64 million viewers.

As one of the most popular shows from the past few years – and with a big break after the second season – it’s no surprise so many fans quickly devoured the third instalment.

Stranger Things Season Three was a hit with Netflix subscribers.

Next up was The Umbrella Academy, a new series based on the comic book series of the same name. It follows seven children with superpowers, who were adopted by eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves and turned in to a team known as “The Umbrella Academy.”

Spanish heist thriller La Casa de Papel came in third, with 44 million views, while stalker-thriller You and British high-school comedy Sex Education both had 40 million. David Attenborough’s heartbreaking global warming PSA Our Plant came in at 33 million.

Netflix’s newly released drama Unbelievable managed to come in seventh with 32 million views, despite only being released in mid-September.

The series stars Aussie Toni Collette and Merritt Wever as two detectives investigating a serial rapist, and Kaitlyn Dever as Marie Adler, a woman falsely accused of lying about her rape.

Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini’s black comedy Dead To Me came in eighth with 30 million views, followed by Ava DuVernay’s Emmy Award-winning When They See Us (25 million) and Spanish teen drama Elite (20 million).

Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini in Dead To Me.

Unsurprisingly, the Sandra Bullock blockbuster Bird Box came in at number one on the Top Movies list, with an incredible 80 million viewers.

The post-apocalyptic thriller is based on the 2014 Joel Malerman novel about survivors living in a world where supernatural entities have caused mass suicides among people who have seen them.

“I read the script and thought, ‘This is going to be great visually’, but once you are in it, you realise one of your tools for acting is completely taken away,” Sandra told TV WEEK of the role.

“I realised how much I relied on my eyes to tell a story in film. It made me angry and frustrated and fearful, so I took all that and let it affect the work too.”

Following Bird Box was the star-studded Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler comedy Murder Mystery. Though it wasn’t quite as funny as their first flick, Just Go With It, the film still brought in a massive 73 million views.

Sandra Bullock in Bird Box.

Next up is Triple Frontier, with Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal as a group of former US Army Delta Force soldiers who reunite for a heist job. The action-adventure film was watched by a whopping 52 million viewers.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before star Noah Centineo dropped another Netflix rom-com this year, and his flirty banter with Laura Marano in The Perfect Date managed to pull in 48 million views.

Recently-added teen flick Tall Girl – about a very tall girl who looks like a supermodel but feels like an outcast due to her height and tormentors – came in fifth, with 41 million views.

Noah Centineo and Laura Marano in The Perfect Date.

The Highwaymen – starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, two former Texas Rangers who attempt to track down Bonnie and Clyde in the 1930s – brought in 40 million views.

The crime drama tied with Netflix’s somewhat cringey psychological thriller Secret Obsession, which also scored 40 million views and inspired a whole heap of memes.

Comedian Ali Wong’s film Always Be My Maybe, written with her long-time friend and co-star Randall Park, had an incredible 32 million views. Close by was the newly released Otherhood, with 29 million views.

Last but not least was the documentary Fyre, which saw 20 million people tune in to find out more about the absolutely bonkers Fyre Festival and its unravelling.

Ali Wong in Always Be My Maybe.

READ NEXT: Everything new coming to Netflix in October 2019

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