New Sci-Fi With 113.9M Hours Viewed Continues A Great Netflix Trend
Netflix's new sci-fi movie is one of the most popular releases in the world right now, topping the streaming service's charts, and it just goes to show how a Netflix streak is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. Netflix's library of movies and TV shows is well-equipped for genre fans. When it comes to the sci-fi genre, that is especially true.
For years, the TV show that served as Netflix's flagship series was Stranger Things, a sci-fi horror project. It became so successful that Stranger Things' series finale was released in theaters, with Netflix seeing the clear potential for the franchise to continue for more years. As a result, the animated Stranger Things: Tales from '85 has already been released to continue the universe.
In terms of sci-fi movies, 2026 has proven itself a particularly exciting year for the streamer. The biggest reason for that is how Reacher star Alan Ritchson recently led one of the biggest Netflix movies of all time, War Machine, which was so successful that a sequel was almost instantly green-lit. Now, another Netflix sci-fi movie is lighting up global charts.
The Last House was released on Netflix on August 7, and less than two full weeks later, it shows signs that the sci-fi movie could become an all-timer for the streaming service. While records remain unbroken, The Last House is already an example of how a major Netflix trend is likely to continue for years to come, all due to its popularity.
Why The Last House Has Been So Successful On Netflix
At the time of writing, The Last House is the most-watched movie on Netflix worldwide, according to official Netflix data. The new sci-fi movie has made its presence felt on the streaming service's global top 10 for the two weeks since its release, leading the list both times. In that period, Netflix's The Last House has racked up 113.9 million hours viewed on the platform.
Mixing elements of horror and sci-fi, The Last House offers the perfect movie-watching experience on Netflix. It is a film where a group of people can be kept guessing all the way through, with an intense and dark atmosphere slowly built, and a shocking ending. The Last House's cast, with stars like Wagner Moura and Greta Lee, has also helped make the Netflix movie a global streaming sensation.
Netflix Has A Lot Of Great Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Movies
The Last House's global success on Netflix continues the trend of apocalyptic sci-fi movies doing well on the streaming service. For instance, if we just look at the 10 most-watched Netflix movies of all time, three of those entries are apocalyptic sci-fi movies. Those projects are Don't Look Up, Bird Box, and Leave the World Behind. All three also feature major Hollywood stars, like The Last House.
In addition to that, those three all-time Netflix hits also hold better Rotten Tomatoes critics' scores than The Last House, which sits at a staggeringly low 21% despite being Netflix's most popular movie worldwide right now. Those projects are just the tip of the iceberg, as Netflix's movie library is filled with apocalyptic sci-fi movies, showing this is a genre that the streaming service knows to perform well and invests a lot in. A nice suggestion for genre fans is #Alive, the zombie movie with a high 88% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.
What's Next For Netflix's Sci-Fi Movies?
The Last House still has months left to accrue the necessary views to break into Netflix's all-time movie chart, but the streaming service already has its successors lined up. One of the biggest such projects is Ray Gunn. The 2026 animated movie will mix sci-fi and noir for a stylized detective story directed by The Incredibles' Brad Bird and starring major names like Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and more.
Ghostbusters: Night Shift, an animated series set in the world of the hit movie franchise, is also set to continue the streamer's sci-fi streak in 2027. That said, purely in terms of movies, not TV offerings in movie franchises, the War Machine sequel with Alan Ritchson, which should be fast-tracked after the success of the original, is probably the project to keep an eye on for sci-fi movie updates following the hype surrounding The Last House.