‘Clickbait’ Trends To No. 1 On Nielsen Streaming Chart; ‘Cruella’ Cruises

Clickbait, Netflix’s eight-episode thriller series, captured the top spot on Nielsen’s U.S. streaming chart in the first full week after its release.

After starting to stream on August 25, the show went on to capture 1.46 billion minutes of viewing from August 30 to September 5, according to Nielsen. The company measures streaming only via a TV set, meaning mobile is not counted, and only for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+. Numbers are released after about a  month’s delay, by arrangement with the streaming providers.

Created by Tony Ayres and Christian White, Clickbait centers on a family upended by a series of digital-age events. Its cast includes Zoe Kazan and Adrien Grenier.

The surge by Clickbait moved it past the prior week’s top draw, Manifest, an unlikely mainstay on the top of the chart. The former NBC series has been resurrected by Netflix for a fourth season, in large part due to its performance in streaming. Even in surrendering the title, it still ended the week with 1.1 billion streaming minutes.

Cruella, the 101 Dalmatians origin story starring Emma Stone, continued to perform well during its run as a no-extra-charge title on Disney+, racking up 757 million viewing minutes. That was down only modestly from the 815 million it drew in the previous week, which was its first beyond the Premier Access window.

The film was released last May in theaters and also on Disney+ for a $30 upcharge via Premier Access. Because of the streaming availability, the film has grossed a so-so $233 million worldwide, but nevertheless has a sequel in development. Disney’s Premier Access model enables it to control much more of the revenue than it would with a theatrical exclusive. Unlike rivals, the studio has not indicated whether it will ease up on day-and-date releases in 2022 and beyond.

The remainder of the chart was taken up by the usual acquired suspects (Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, etc.) but Money Heist cracked the top 10 in its final season as a Netflix original. The first part of Season 5 debuted September 3, helping the show collect 452 viewing minutes. Part 2 of the final season will debut in December.

Below is the full top 10. Unless otherwise noted, all shows are on Netflix.

Clickbait – 8 episodes, 1.46 billion viewing minutes

Manifest – 42 eps., 1.1B min.

Cruella (Disney+) – film, 757M min.

Cocomelon – 12 eps., 745M min.

Grey’s Anatomy – 376 eps., 685M min.

Criminal Minds – 316 eps., 593M min.

NCIS – 353 eps., 580M min.

Chicago Med – 100 eps., 457M min.

Heartland – 215 eps., 455M min.

Money Heist – 41 eps., 452M min.