Global Streaming Preferences: What the World Is Watching by Region, Company & Genre

Drama

Drama is the most popular genre in 51 nations, including France, the U.S., the U.K., Argentina, Nicaragua and Bahrain.

Notably, drama leads by a mile in France, representing around one in five titles watched. This isn’t surprising for a country famous for its mastery of the genre and reputation for producing some of the world’s best films. Argentina’s share of approximately one in six titles is also respectable. 

The drama genre is a broad umbrella, often joining with others to form subgenres such as comedy drama, legal drama, kitchen sink drama, crime drama and more. This versatility could be one of the reasons behind its widespread popularity.

Comedy

Seven countries have a special affinity for comedy films and movies. Most are in Europe, with Pakistan and India joining them.

India’s film industry, though vastly diverse genre-wise, is known for its talent for producing lighthearted, feel-good numbers with a dose of glitz and glamor. Meanwhile, the European countries that favor comedy are Germany, Austria, Denmark and Malta.

Crime

Eleven countries demonstrate a love for the crime genre, from Australia all the way to South Africa. Our streaming data reveals that Ireland has a particular fondness for crime shows and films, with the genre representing around one in seven titles watched, followed closely by drama. 

Much of the content driving Ireland’s preference for crime comes from Netflix and Amazon. Ireland itself has contributed an abundance of acclaimed movies and series to the crime genre, including ‘The General’ (1998), ‘In Bruges’ (2008) and ‘Kin’ (2021 series).

Sci-Fi

Popular in both Europe and Asia, sci-fi takes the top spot in 14 countries, including Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain. Sci-fi is especially beloved in Spain — a prolific producer of sci-fi films since the mid-20th century — and accounts for about one in four titles viewed there. 

Spain has an overwhelming preference for fantasy content from the Apple TV store and Amazon (with each accounting for about two in five titles), while Netflix accounts for a much smaller share (around one in 30). The Netherlands and Poland follow Spain in the European sci-fi ranking, with around one in five titles each.

Animated

The animation genre leads in six countries distributed across Asia and Europe. It accounts for around one in six titles streamed in Japan, which likely has to do with the country’s vibrant anime culture. Japanese animated films do incredibly well overseas as well, with Miyazaki works like ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ among the most beloved. 

Fantasy

Greece is the only country in which fantasy is the most popular genre, with crime not far behind. The Apple TV store and Google are home to Greece’s main fantasy content preferences (with each platform claiming around one in four titles). 

The love for the genre is likely deeply inspired by Greek mythology, with its fantastic tales of gods, goddesses and heroes enjoyed all around the world to this day.

Action

The Middle East is especially fond of action, with Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia making up five of the eight countries preferring this genre. 

Filmmakers often head for the Middle East’s deserts and sprawling cities to shoot action flicks like ‘Dune,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ and ‘Aladdin,’ a factor that may boost the intrigue for local audiences.

Horror

Three countries favor horror: Mexico, Brazil and Sweden. In Mexico, the preference is overwhelming; the horror genre represents about one in four titles watched. Much of Mexico’s folklore centers on horror themes, and the country has a tradition of embracing the spooky and otherworldly. 

Netflix

Netflix is the clear winner of this category, comprising the largest share of content streamed in 58 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, North America, South America and the Caribbean. 

The streaming giant, known for iconic originals such as ‘Stranger Things’ and interactive content like ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,’ has overtaken much older companies like Universal Pictures by a wide margin when it comes to content viewing. 

As a streaming service, part of Netflix’s appeal is its large content library. Plus, it offers cheaper, ad-supported streaming in some countries, increasing its accessibility and presenting a convenient alternative to traditional TV for some.

HBO Max

Despite being one of Netflix’s top competitors as a streaming service, HBO Max as a production company dominates in only two countries: Montenegro and Albania, which borders Montenegro to the southeast. 

As a streaming service, the platform is home to almost three in 10 titles watched in both countries. HBO Max’s smaller collection of originals includes ‘Harley Quinn’ and ‘Doom Patrol.’

Universal Pictures

Accounting for 19 countries in total, Universal Pictures’ content is especially popular in Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Venezuela. 

The 114-year-old company has produced classics like ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘E.T.,’ and ‘Jaws,’ to name a few. Today, these beloved pictures are distributed across various streaming platforms around the world.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures is just ahead of Universal Pictures, with 21 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Central America. Most of these countries are in Europe, including France, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Moldova. 

In Greece, Warner Bros. Pictures content represents about one in four of the most-watched titles. The numbers in Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine aren’t far behind.

20th Century Studios

Founded in 1935, 20th Century Studios made it to the final ranking as the winner in just one country: Poland. The company is responsible for some of the world’s most famous films, including ‘Titanic’ and ‘Home Alone.’ 

North America

Home to the world’s biggest film studios, it’s no surprise that North America takes the lead in this category, with 70 countries watching content originating mostly from there. However, in 13 countries — many of which are in Asia — North American content is only the second most watched. 

Asia

Asian content is the most watched in 14 countries, all in Asia, where local content clearly prevails over shows and movies from other regions. The 19 countries where Asian content ranks second in viewership are spread across multiple regions: Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North, West and East Africa. 

Europe

Despite being the hub for some of the most respected film industries, Europe can’t compete with North America or Asia when it comes to the most-watched content. It doesn’t take first place in a single country, instead settling for second in 57 countries, mostly in Latin America and Europe. 

Japan, Jordan and Israel make up the Asian representation (which includes the Middle East), while Kenya represents East Africa. Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the Bahamas, represent the Caribbean.

Latin America

Latin America made it onto the final list by a hair, with Colombia bringing the region to second place (after North America). To be precise, about one in seven titles viewed in Colombia comes from Latin America. However, the gap between Latin American and North American content viewed in Colombia is still pretty wide, with North American content comprising roughly three in five titles, or 59.80%.