Netflix’s top show and movie rankings in the U.S. shifted this week as Sofia Carson’s The Life List claimed the crown for top movie, while the limited series Adolescence maintained its iron grip among TV shows for a third consecutive week.
We are entering a new month, and with that comes many new additions. This week, several big projects have the potential to turn Netflix’s Top 10 lists upside down.
If you want to take a guess on who will finish atop next week’s leaderboards, top prediction market Kalshi has markets for both TV shows and movies. We’ll preview the projects you want to look out for, but first let’s review what happened last week.
What happened last week in TV
- Adolescence (Limited Series)
- The Residence (Season 1)
- Raw: 2025 – March 24, 2025
- Million Dollar Secret (Season 1)
- Ms. Rachel (Season 1)
- Caught (Season 1)
- Chelsea Handler: The Feeling (Stand-up Special)
- Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure (Season 1)
- Temptation Island (Season 1)
- Running Point (Season 1)
Top US Netflix TV show this week?
This week, there are three potential new major competitors for the TV show leaderboards on Netflix. The documentary series Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, the medical TV show Pulse, and the animated video game adaptation Devil May Cry are the big players this week.
Adolescence (Last week: No.1)
- Adolescence Release Date: 3 weeks ago – March 13, 2025
- Adolescence Runtime: 4 Episodes — 51-65 minutes each
Adolescence and The Residence have taken the top two spots on the Netflix leaderboard for the second week straight. In Adolescence’s case, this is the third week straight.
After a record-breaking first two weeks, Adolescence continues to be discussed on social media and in politics. The show started conversations about masculinity, and they have yet to stop.
UK politicians are even suggesting Adolescence be shown in school to illustrate the dangers of the so-called “manosphere.” Moreover, in just three weeks, this limited series has become the ninth most watched show on Netflix ever, with 96.7 million views.
Despite its impressive performance, Adolescence isn’t the first show to be No. 1 for three weeks straight. According to FlixPatrol, The Queen’s Gambit was in the No. 1 spot globally for 47 days, which is significantly more than three weeks.
However, this week, Adolescence is facing stiff competition.
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer
- Release Date: Monday, March 31, 2025
- Runtime: 3 episodes — 49-56 minutes
Adolescence has met its match in Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. This is a documentary about the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
What gives Adolescence an advantage also gives Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer an advantage. While the former series consists of four episodes of 51-65 minutes each, the latter consists of an even shorter three episodes of 49-56 minutes each.
Netflix’s top rankings are calculated by dividing the number of viewers by the running time. Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer’s even shorter running time gives it an advantage over Adolescence.
Netflix produces many documentaries, but many go unnoticed. However, the series is getting plenty of attention so far.
This has led to a considerable boost in views for the show. On April 1, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer’s was the second most-watched show behind WWE Raw and the most-watched show on April 2. For both days, Adolescence was in the No. 3 spot.
We are only at the beginning of the week, but so far, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer may have a chance to dethrone Adolescence.
Pulse
- Release Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025
- Runtime: 10 episodes — predicted to be around 45-60 minutes each
If you think of ABC, FOX, or any of the primetime cable networks, which shows have often been the most popular? Medical shows.
Surprisingly, Netflix has never produced a U.S.-based medical show until now – Pulse. The creator, Zoe Robyn, has written for shows like Hawaii Five-0 and Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer, but this is the first show she created.
She is also Pulse’s showrunner, alongside Carlton Cuse, who is known for being the showrunner and executive producer of Lost. The show’s ensemble cast includes Willa Fitzgerald, Colin Woodell, and Justina Machado.
If Pulse is found by the audiences that love Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and all the other medical shows, this could be a huge smash for Netflix and give Adolescense a run for its money. Unfortunately, it is being released three days after Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer and has a significantly longer run time. These two factors put Pulse at a significant disadvantage.
Devil May Cry
- Release Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025
- Runtime: 8 episodes — predicted to be around 28 minutes each
Devil May Cry is getting a Netflix animated series adaptation. The show is based on the Japanese video game franchise created by Capcom with the same name.
The series is developed by Adi Shankar, who also developed Netflix’s popular Castlevania, which is also a video game adaptation. Both Castlevania and Castlevania: Nocturne were received critically well and were enjoyed by fans.
According to Parrot Analytics, the first season of Castlevania was ranked No. 15 on their list of “most in-demand digital original series in the United States.” However, it’s unclear if Devil May Cry is popular enough to beat out Adolescence or newly trending shows like Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer.
What Happened Last Week in Movies
- The Life List
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
- Despicable Me 4
- The Twister: Caught in the Storm
- Kraven the Hunter
- Trap
- The Electric State
- Con Mum
- Talk to Me
- The Secret Life of Pets
Top US Netflix movie this week?
With the beginning of the new month, many old and new projects will be added. Last week’s The Life List was at the top of the list, but a new film, One of Them Days, may be a strong challenger.
The Life List
- Release Date: Last week – March 28, 2025
- Runtime: 123 minutes
Sofia Carson has achieved another No. 1. The Life List is the latest Netflix movie starring Carson, and the film was No. 1 last week in the United States and globally.
This is Netflix’s fifth project with Carson, and it’s not surprising that they keep working with her.
The Life List comes after Carry‑On, Purple Hearts, Feel the Beat, and My Little Pony: A New Generation.
Not only do her projects go No.1 for a week, but they also leave an impact. Carry On achieved the biggest film debut on Netflix for 2024, and Purple Hearts was the third most watched movie of 2022.
On both April 1 and April 2, The Life List has maintained its top spot on the chart. Sofia Carson and her rom-coms perform well on the platform. It will be difficult to dethrone this movie, but could another film take over the first spot?
One of Them Days
- Release Date: Monday, March 31, 2025
- Runtime: 97 minutes
One of Them Days was only released in theaters on Jan. 17, but it is already arriving on Netflix less than two and a half months later. Similar to Den of Thieves 2: Panterra, the quick turnaround can help it rise to the top of the chart.
Moreover, the film was a massive commercial and critical success. With a $14 million budget, the film grossed over $50 million. One of Them Days also received an impressive 93% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
But they also have two major secret weapons—Keke Palmer and SZA. Impressively, this is SZA’s acting debut after a massively successful singing career that included performing at this year’s Super Bowl as Kendrick Lamar’s guest.
Both Palmer and SZA are massively popular among younger Millennials and Gen Zers. The film is also reminiscent of buddy comedies from the 2000s, which may attract older Millennials as well.
This perfect mix, with a shorter run time than The Life List, could make it a fierce competitor for the top spot. As of right now, on the first two days of the month, the film has landed in the runner up competition but we will have to see how the rest of the week unfolds.
Other Potential Film Releases
While The Life List and One of Them Days are the two most probable films to reach the top of the charts, there may be some dark horses. This week’s leaderboard will include April 1, which brings a boatload of new movies to the mix.
On the first of every month, Netflix adds and removes many movies and shows from its platform, many of which are not Netflix originals but licensed movies and shows.
This batch of projects includes a wide variety of favorites from many different genres. Horror fans will have Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), classic movie fans will have Psycho (1960), and action fans will have Lucy (2014).
The long list also includes Matilda (1996), The Breakfast Club (1985), The Croods (2013), Big Daddy (1999), and so on. It’s hard to guess which movie will blow up when many of them are older films.
Older films can get close to the top — for example, during the week of March 6-12, 2023, The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire were the No. 2 and No. 3 films, respectively. Obviously, these movies came out over a decade ago but performed well on Netflix.
The Life List and One of Them Days continue to be the most likely to top the leaderboard, but any of these older films can steal the crown. However, with a strong performer like The Life List, they are unlikely to succeed.
