'Squid Game 2' has been named the most-watched content on Netflix for two consecutive weeks.
According to the official Netflix site 'Netflix Top 10' on Jan. 8, in the first week of January (Dec. 30 to Jan. 5), 'Squid Game 2' recorded a total viewing time of 417.1 million hours in the global market, ranking first overall. The number of views, divided by the total running time (7 hours 10 minutes), was 58.2 million.
'Squid Game 2' not only topped the Netflix institutional sector for non-English TV shows in that week but also showed overwhelmingly high viewing time and number of views among English-language TV shows and both English and non-English films. When divided by country, it ranked first in 91 of the total 93 service countries.
However, compared to the record set by 'Squid Game 2' in its opening week (487.6 million viewing hours and 68 million views), there has been a noticeable decline. This is in contrast to the success of the previous season, which in its opening week in September 2021 recorded 448.7 million viewing hours and in the following week achieved an astonishing record of 571.8 million viewing hours.
Season 1 was the second most-watched content on Netflix in the first week of January. About 3 years and 4 months since its release, the increase in people binge-watching the 'Squid Game' series again can be interpreted as a resurgence.
While evaluations of 'Squid Game 2' are mixed overseas, there are reactions noting its connection to today's global political situation. In a column by cultural critic Rebecca Sun published in The New York Times (NYT) on Jan. 4 (local time), she referenced President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law last December and the public protests, stating, "It is no coincidence that 'Squid Game' originated in Korea, a young democracy with a tumultuous history."