South Korean series Squid Game has turned out to be a massive grosser for Netflix. According to Bloomberg report, the nine-episode thriller has generated an impact value of USD 891.1 million.
The report citing internal documents said the show has marked an estimate of 132 million people who have at least watched the show for two minutes in the first 23 days, obliterating the previously held record by the period romance Bridgerton. 89% of viewers who started Squid Game, approximately 117 million viewers, watched at least 75 minutes and 66%, 87 million viewers, finished the show within the 23 day window after its release. In comparison to its estimated net worth, the show cost just $21.4 million to produce, Bloomberg said.
Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game follows debt-laden contestants in a life-or-death competition to win a grand prize of $38.5 million dollars. The juxtaposition of innocent childhood pastimes clubbed with terminal consequences has gained everyone’s attention around the globe. Earlier, Netflix had announced the show had garnered 111 million views but Bloomberg said those figures were based on slightly older data. Notably, the Squid Games has now become the most-watched show on the OTT platform. The series is also the first Korean drama to snatch the top spot on Netflix in the United States, and is reported to have spurred interest among people in learning Korean.
The show has even drawn positive comments from Amazon Inc (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos, with the billionaire calling the work “impressive and inspiring.”
