A Netflix thriller has ascended the global streaming charts, despite a poor critical response. Netflix continues to release movies across all genres, but thrillers remain some of the streamer’s biggest successes.Carry-On(2024), for example, was a massive hit upon release, eventually working its way up to becoming Netflix’s second most-watched English movie ever.
Carry-Onis far from the only English-language Netflix thriller success, though. Last year,movies likeRebel RidgeandDon’t Movewere also significant releasesin terms of viewership. In 2023,The Killermade a splash, and this year,Havocwas also a modest success, despite mixed reviews.
It’s not just with English-language thrillers that Netflix is finding success, however, asthe genre proves to be popular internationally. One of the biggest releases last year wasUnder Paris, a French shark attack movie, which is currently the second most-watched non-English movie on the service.
Netflix’s international success continued earlier this year with therelease ofExterritorial, which is now the fourth most-watched non-English movie available for streaming on the platform. Other notable titles in this category includeThe Platform(2019),Counterattack(2025),Ad Vitam(2025), andAka(2023). Now, another non-English movie is making a splash.
Brick Dominates Netflix’s Global Viewership Chart
The 2025 Thriller Is Off To A Strong Start
Brickhas become a global smash hit on Netflix, even though it features a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score of only 35%. Directed by Philip Koch, the German-language movie follows a couple who team up with other residents of their apartment building to escape after the whole structure becomes encased by a mysterious brick wall.
Matthias Schweighöfer and Ruby O. Fee lead the film’s cast as Tim and Olivia, respectively, with supporting cast members including Frederick Lau, Salber Lee Williams, Murathan Muslu, and Sira-Anna Faal.Brickreviewshave been generally negative from critics, earning the film its dismal Rotten Tomatoes score.
Netflixhas now released streaming data for the week of July 7 – 13, andBrickstands as the number one most-watched non-English movie on the servicefor the week.
The thriller clocked 18.2 million views and 30.6 million hours viewed, handily beating the second-place title ofAlmost Cops(2025), which features total views and hours viewed figures of 10 million and 16.1 million, respectively. Check out the full top 10 chart below:
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What This Means For Brick
Will The Netflix Film’s Success Continue?
It’s worth noting that,ifBrickwas included among the top 10 English movies for the same time period, it would come in third placebehindMadea’s Destination Wedding(2025) at 19.1M andKPop Demon Hunters(2025)at 24.2M, an impressive feat. Unfortunately, the poor reception makes it unclear whether the film’s viewership success will continue.
To accompany its disappointing 35% Rotten Tomatoes critics' score from 20 reviews,the Popcornmeter score from audiences is an even worse 27%. Though this latter score is from over 100 reviews, a small figure by audience score standards, it does suggest a general sense of dissatisfaction after watching the film.
Of course, it’s crucial to point out that the number one non-English movie of all time,Troll, has a mixed 50% Popcornmeter score, andUnder Paris, the second place title, has only a 30%. Clearly,these scores don’t paint the whole picture, and it’s entirely possible thatBrickwill remain a fixture on the top 10 chart in the weeks to come.
