27.9 Million Views: The Korean Blockbuster That Conquered the Global No. 1 Spot

Still from The Great Flood: Anna (Kim Da-mi) and her son Jain (Kwon Eun-sung)

[Provided by Netflix]

At the end of 2025, Netflix subscribers worldwide did not choose the highly anticipated Hollywood film Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man starring Daniel Craig. Instead, the spotlight belonged to The Great Flood, a Korean sci-fi disaster film directed by Kim Byung-woo and starring Kim Da-mi and Park Hae-soo.

Released on December 19, the film recorded an astounding 50 million viewing hours in its first three days, claiming the No. 1 spot on Netflix's global film rankings (combining non-English and English categories) with an overwhelming 27.9 million views. This marks the best opening performance for any international film released on a Friday, surpassing both Jake Paul's boxing match and Christmas season films released during the same period. The explosive early success of The Great Flood proves that Korean cinema now occupies mainstream global viewing time on equal footing with Hollywood blockbusters.

The 'Algorithm' and 'Genre Intuition' That Defied Critical Backlash

What makes this particularly interesting is the stark contrast between critical reception and audience response. On Rotten Tomatoes, The Great Flood received a popcorn score (audience rating) of 40% and a critics' score of 60%. Despite criticism such as "the story is confusing" and "the latter half of the narrative is convoluted," viewers worldwide kept watching.

Local media outlets have analyzed this phenomenon as the "curiosity economy of the streaming era." In an environment where one must pay for a movie ticket, ratings become the absolute criterion for viewing decisions. However, in a subscription-based streaming environment, the psychology of "nothing to lose even if it fails" comes into play.

In particular, The Great Flood established immediate accessibility that transcends language and cultural barriers by presenting a clear and intuitive premise: "a mother who must rescue her child from a flooded apartment." Unlike competing films that require viewers to learn complex franchise universes, this film's "genre universality"—allowing anyone worldwide to understand the content and click based solely on the thumbnail and logline—proved highly effective. Additionally, director Kim Byung-woo's signature fast-paced direction, proven in The Terror Live, combined with the excellent performances of Kim Da-mi and Park Hae-soo, filled narrative gaps with visual pleasure and sustained viewing time.

Significance and Outlook

The success of The Great Flood proves that Korean cinema can perfectly execute the genre grammar and technical spectacle demanded by global platforms, beyond artistic merit and social messages. The challenge ahead is to build upon this accessibility by layering more sophisticated narratives to sustain a fandom that goes beyond mere clicks.

참고 자료

• Comic Basics, "This New Korean Sci-Fi Film Is Shattering Netflix Viewership Records", 2025.12.24

• Media Play News, "Netflix: South Korea's 'The Great Flood' Swamps Weekly Streaming With 27.9 Million Views Through Dec. 21", 2025.12.23

• The Guardian, "The Great Flood review – Korean apocalypse movie swerves into sinister sci-fi territory", 2025.12.15

• Variety, "'The Great Flood' Review: Korean Survival Tale Goes Down Sci-Fi Wormhole", 2025.12.20

• Insight Trends World, "Entertainment: The Great Flood Phenomenon: How Mediocre Sci-Fi Beats Prestige on Streaming", 2025.12.21

※ Viewing data based on official Netflix rankings; critical data based on Rotten Tomatoes.