Entertainment

'Stranger Things 4' unlikely to overtake 'Squid Game'

July 14, 2022 | 10:04am

'Stranger Things 4' unlikely to overtake 'Squid Game'

Composite image of the Netflix shows "Stranger Things" and "Squid Game"

Netflix

MANILA, Philippines — Netflix has released the latest numbers for the fourth season of its hit supernatural series "Stranger Things," over a week since the season's final two feature-length episodes dropped on the streaming platform.

Data from Netflix shows that for the week of July 4 — three days after Episodes 8 and 9 were released — "Strangers Things 4" racked up 188.2 million hours viewed, which Deadline estimates the last two episodes contributed 117 million hours.

If combined with the 220 million hours that "Strangers Things 4 Vol. 2" gained in its opening weekend and "Vol. 1's" 930 million hours from its first 28 days, the fourth season has a total of 1.267 billion viewing hours.

That number is a several hundred millions short of the record currently held by South Korean show "Squid Game," which in its first month racked up 1.65 billion views.

Netflix will continue counting the numbers for Episodes 8 and 9, which have a combined runtime of roughly four hours, until July 28 but it is unlikely that "Stranger Things" will be able to overtake the dystopian Korean series.

The supernatural show remains in the Top 10 list for Netflix, all four seasons figuring in the top half with "The Umbrella Academy 3" sandwiched in between. For the week of July 4, all seasons of "Stranger Things" combined for 311 million views.

"Stranger Things 4" figured in the Top 10 of 93 countries including the Philippines, taking topspot in nations such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, Spain, France, and Germany.

Beating "Stranger Things 4" for the top spots in the Philippines were the KathNiel drama "2 Good 2 Be True" and the Korean drama "Ghost Doctor," currently on their ninth and third weeks respectively on the Philippine charts — "Stranger Things 4" has been there for seven weeks.

Trailing the three shows are the first seasons of "Alchemy of Souls," "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," and "Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area," the first three seasons of "Stranger Things," and "The Umbrella Academy 3."

Battle continues at the Emmys

Both "Stranger Things" and "Squid Game" received multiple nominations for the 2022 Emmy Awards, leading Netflix's bets with 13 and 14 apiece including Outstanding Drama Series — a first for a non-English show given the nod for "Squid Game."

Other key nominations for "Squid Game" include acting nods for Lee Jung-jae, HoYeon Jung, O Yeung-su, Park Hae-soo, and Lee You-mi, and directing and writing nods for showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk.

"Stranger Things" were shut out of other major awards — with Sadie Sink, Mille Bobby Brown, and Winona Ryder as the biggest snubs — but had numerous Creative Emmys nods such as casting, production design, hairstyling, makeup, special visual effects, and stunt performance.

Netflix in total had 105 nominations, but came in second to HBO and its streaming platform HBO Max which had 140 nominations for 2022 mostly due to "Succession," "The White Lotus," "Hacks," "Euphoria," and "Barry."