We welcomed 2020 still swooning over Yoon Se-ri crash landing on Captain Ri, but it was just the beginning of a roller-coaster ride.
This year, more than ever, how we watched has been a barometer of the full spectrum of moods and emotions we’ve experienced – from 😳 to 🙃, a solid amount of 😬, a generous dose of 😍, not forgetting 😭, 🤯 and this. Here’s a look at the Philippines viewing trends on Netflix in 2020, the ‘Year of Many Moods’.
We fell in love… hard: We felt all the feelings with the Pinoy film,Through Night and Day, making it the most popular romantic title on Netflix Philippines this year. Our kilig remained strong with sequels, The Kissing Booth 2, The Princess Switch: Switched Again and To All The Boys P.S. I Still Love You. We stayed up all night thinking about the intense love triangle in Start-Up. Crazy Rich Asians, Once Before, The Hows of Us, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Alter Me, and Just a Stranger were other popular titles that kept us in love. Romance viewing on Netflix Philippines in 2020 increased by almost 400% compared to 2019.
We gasped, we cried, we lived for all the drama: Enola’s wit and intellect made Enola Holmes the most popular drama title in the Philippines. The sobering love story of On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets had us rooting for the lead characters, and we also cheered Beth Harmon on her journey to become a chess grandmaster in The Queen’s Gambit. Other popular dramas on Netflix Philippines include Ordinary People, 21 Bridges, How She Let Me, Unforgettable, Cuddle Weather and Lucifer: Season 5. Drama viewing was up more than 150%.
We dialed up the drama with our love for K-dramas: Lee Min-Ho’s long-awaited comeback, The King: Eternal Monarch, reigns supreme as the most popular K-Drama in the Philippines this year. We slayed zombies through Joseon in Kingdom: Season 2, and learned more about mental health through It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, which was the most enduring title of 2020 on Netflix Philippines by staying in the Top 10 for 103 days. We were inspired by the passion and determination of Park Sae-Royi in Itaewon Class, and capped the year debating over #TeamJiPyeong or #TeamDoSan in Start-Up. Other popular k-dramas include The World of the Married, Record of Youth, Extracurricular, The School Nurse Files, VIP and Hi Bye, Mama! Compared to 2019, K-drama viewing was up more than 350% in 2020.
We laughed: We found new reasons to smile and laugh thanks to the wacky antics of the boys in Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap, this year’s most popular comedy in the Philippines. Emily and Mindy had us laughing all the way to beautiful Paris with Emily in Paris. We also laughed out loud with Jowable, Sex Education 2, Holidate and Hubie Halloween. We topped it with a halo-halo of Pinoy pride and joy with Jo Koy: In His Elements. Comedy viewing almost doubled from 2019.
We were scared: Asian horror had us sleeping with the lights on, from Korean zombies in #Alive and Train to Busan, to the unsettling paranormal stories in Metamorphosis and The Maid. We even slashed and stabbed our way through gory films like The Babysitter: Killer Queen and The First Purge. The Haunting of Bly Manor proved to be perfectly splendid with horror viewing up more than 150% (ask Khalil and Gabbi).
We Netflix and Thrilled: Our thrillers arrived from all over the world. We headed to modern and dystopic Spain with Money Heist: Part 4 andThe Platform, respectively. Over in South Korea, we battled zombies with Ju Ji-Hoon’s Crown Prince in Kingdom: Season 2 and screamed in terror alongside Park Shin-Hye in The Call. American thrillers like Spenser Confidential and Dangerous Lies also had us on the edge of our seats. Thriller viewing more than doubled over 2019.
We kicked a**: We loved the adrenaline rush from the most popular action title on Netflix Philippines, Extraction. We endured the test of time with the immortal crew from The Old Guard, while also enjoying the intense scenes in Anna, The Meg, and Project Power. We were also excited to see the rise of a new generation of Angels in Charlie’s Angels and the time traveling adventures of The Umbrella Academy (just like Chris). Action viewing was up close to 200%.
We loved being kids: We soared for the stars, sang along (so did Julie) and rocketed to the moon with Fei-Fei in Over the Moon, propelling it to be the most popular Kids & Family title in the Philippines. We also enjoyed The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, The Willoughbys, The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two, The Babysitter’s Guide To Monster Hunting, Pets United, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey and The Angry Birds Movie 2. With updated Parental Control features that rolled out this year, Netflix became the perfect destination for kids and family entertainment in the Philippines, and the viewing doubled.
Filipino stories ruled our screens: We felt proud and celebrated Netflix Films from the Philippines – Hayop KaI The Nimfa Dimaano Story, Alter Me and Finding Agnes. However, it is the Paolo Contis and Alessandra de Rossi starrer, Through Night and Day, that proved to be the most popular Pinoy film on Netflix. Other popular Filipino titles include Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap, Love the Way U Lie, Once Before, On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets, Ordinary People, The Hows of Us, Jowable, How She Left Me, Unforgettable, Just a Stranger, and Cuddle Weather.
We enjoyed a variety of other titles across multiple genres: We learned to withstand storms with Hodaka and Mitsuho in Weathering With You, making it the most popular anime title in the Philippines. We also felt nostalgic with the return of the anime classic Yu Yu Hakusho — more popularly known as Ghost Fighter. We battled the Olympian gods in Blood of Zeus, and lived like a cat in A Whisker Away. We were glued to our screens to uncover the mystery behind the real-life case of American Murder: The Family Next Door, and waved our lightsticks for Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rose in Blackpink: Light Up the Sky. And how can we ever forget the thrill of seeing the G.O.A.T. basketball icon, Michael Jordan, in action in The Last Dance?
2020 also brought us the Netflix Mobile Plan at ₱149/month to which we all said tudum.
Most Popular Titles of 2020 on Netflix Philippines by genre:
- Romance: Through Night and Day
- Drama: Enola Holmes
- K-Drama: The King: Eternal Monarch
- Comedy: Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap
- Kids & Family: Over The Moon
- Action: Extraction
- Thriller: Money Heist: Part 4
- Horror: #Alive
- Documentary: American Murder: The Family Next Door
- Anime: Weathering With You
