Murder Mystery tops Netflix 2019 shows, The Crown out of top 10 list

(Clockwise from top left) Movie and television stills from Murder Mystery, Stranger Things 3, Incredibles 2 and 6 Underground. PHOTOS: NETFLIX, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY (SOUTHEAST ASIA) PTE. LIMITED

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Netflix's original film Murder Mystery, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, topped a list of the streaming service's most popular releases of 2019 in the United States.

But its award-winning The Crown failed to make the top 10.

Netflix said on Monday (Dec 30) that science fiction series Stranger Things came in second, followed by the Michael Bay action movie 6 Underground.

The animated movie Incredibles 2 and Martin Scorsese's gangster film The Irishman took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

The ranking was based on the number of households watching at least two minutes of a series, movie or special during its first 28 days on Netflix in 2019, the streaming service said.

British royal series The Crown did not appear in the top 10 list, despite having won major awards, including for its leading actors.

Season Three was released in November and Netflix did not supply any viewing data.

Netflix, which boasts more than 158 million subscribers around the world, only selectively releases viewership figures for programming it considers a hit.

Executives at Netflix have said they plan to be more transparent with audience data to satisfy Hollywood producers and stars and to help viewers decide what to watch.

The streaming heavyweight is facing new competition, particularly from Walt Disney which has been removing its movies from Netflix and putting them on the Disney+ streaming service.

Top 10 most popular releases of 2019 (in the US)

1. Murder Mystery

2. Stranger Things 3

3. 6 Underground

4. Incredibles 2

5. The Irishman

6. The Witcher

7. Triple Frontier

8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

9. The Umbrella Academy

10. The Highwaymen

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