When it arrived in theaters back in November 2023, “Thanksgiving” proved that horror always wins at the box office. But it seems the film still hasn’t run out of steam yet. Eli Roth’s latest hit Netflix in the U.S. on February 17, 2024, and immediately started rising up the most-watched charts. In fact, according to FlixPatrol, a site that aggregates viewing metrics across streaming platforms, by Feb. 18, the movie had already hit the number two spot. Now, “Thanksgiving” has slashed its way to the top of the charts, hitting number one on February 19 and remaining there as of February 20.
This latest Netflix horror success follows a similar debut for Ti West’s 2022 effort “X,” which had a similarly auspicious debut on the streamer earlier in February. Like “Thanksgiving” with its 84% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, “X” had the benefit of a positive critical reaction to propel its streaming arrival, suggesting that despite the fact that Netflixers will pretty much watch anything, that doesn’t mean the Netflix top 10 chart is always full of forgettable dross.
All of this also bodes well for the horror genre in general, which has been consistently bringing audiences out to the multiplex at a time when theaters are otherwise mostly struggling. Last year, horror features were also responsible for some major Netflix chart successes, too, with everything from “The Pope’s Exorcist” to David F. Sandberg’s “Lights Out” causing a stir. As such, let’s hope we get more streaming horror options as the year progresses.