Nielsen Streaming Ratings: Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ on Netflix Led a Rather Lifeless Week for the U.S. Streaming Biz

(Image credit: Netflix)

The debut of Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead captured 913 million viewing minutes after just three days on Netflix, making the zombie thriller the most watched program on the major U.S. SVOD services during the week of May 17-23, according to Nielsen.

Starring Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell and Tig Notaro, Army of the Dead follows a group of mercenaries who venture into a zombified Las Vegas to pull off a heist. Netflix released the film exclusively in cinemas on May 14 for one week prior to launching the movie on the streaming service on May 21.

Nielsen Weekly Rankings May 17-23 — Weekly Streaming Ratings for May 17-23 (Image credit: Nielsen)

The film was first announced in 2008 as a sequel to 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, with Universal Studios and Warner Bros. producing. But Army of the Dead didn’t get off the ground until Netflix acquired the project in January 2019.

Army of the Dead is only the seventh movie to rank No. 1 on Nielsen’s weekly top SVOD programs list since the company started ranking content on the major U.S. SVOD services in September. Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Thunder Force and Spenser Confidential, Amazon Studio’s Coming 2 America, Disney Plus’ Soul and HBO Max’s Wonder Woman 1984 have all taken the No. 1 spot on Nielsen’s overall SVOD chart.

Nielsen Weekly Rankings - Movies May 17-23 — Movies (Image credit: Nielsen)

Meanwhile, repeats on Netflix continue to dominate Nielsen’s streaming ratings.

CBS procedural drama NCIS ranked No. 2 for the week of May 17-23, with its super long tail of 353 episodes capturing 690 million minutes of U.S. watching on Netflix. NCIS was also No. 1 on Nielsen’s sub-ranking of acquired shows.

Crime drama Startup ranked third and No. 2 on the acquired listing. The 31-episode Crackle series, which stars Adam Brody, garnered 657 viewing minutes, down 103 million viewing

minutes week over week. Startup, which launched on Netflix May 4, first aired on Crackle in September 2016. The third and final season of the show premiered in November 2018.

Netflix streaming of another off-network crime drama, CBS' Criminal Minds, came in No. 4. The procedural drama’s 310 episodes licensed by Netflix garnered 644 million minutes of viewing.

Netflix’s off-network run of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy tallied 575 million U.S. streaming minutes, placing the series and its 374 episodes in fifth place.

Notably, another Netflix acquired series that routinely shows up in Nielsen’s weekly rankings is Cocomelon. The computer-animated children’s program, originally produced for YouTube and acquired by UK distributor Moonbug Entertainment, features baby J.J. and his siblings singing lullabies and telling stories. During the week of May 17, nine episodes of Cocomelon collected 517 million minutes of viewing.

Nielsen Weekly Rankings - Acquired Series May 17-23 — (Image credit: Nielsen)

Dropping from the No. 5 spot to the No. 7 spot overall week over week was Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which posted the sixth of its Season 4 episodes on May 19. The drama’s 42 episodes tallied 516 million viewing minutes, down 68 million viewing minutes week over week. The Dystopian drama’s audience was the best of any original SVOD series for the week of May 17-23.

Netflix revenge drama Who Killed Sara, which debuted its second season on May 18, ranked No. 8. The 18-episode series netted 500 million viewing minutes.

Another Netflix movie, Woman in the Window, starring Amy Adams and debuting May 14, maintained its No. 9 ranking, garnering 456 million viewing minutes for the week of May 17-23.

Taking the biggest tumble week over week was Netflix Jupiter’s Legacy. The eight-episode, comics-inspired series dropped from No. 1 to the No. 10 overall. Released May 7, Jupiter’s Legacy was not renewed by Netflix for a second season, event though it captured over 1 billion minutes of viewing in the U.S. during the week of March 10. The superhero epic garnered just 405 million view minutes for the week of May 17-23, its second full week on Netflix.