Kurt Russell's 'The Christmas Chronicles' Viewed Over 20 Million Times on Netflix

Netflix is notoriously secretive when it comes to revealing the statistics regarding their service, though the company couldn't help but boast about their latest achievement. Their original holiday film, The Christmas Chronicles, was reportedly streamed 20 million times in the week since it debuted on the service.

Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, shared the details at UBS's 2018 Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, detailing that Kurt Russell, who plays Santa Claus in the film, has "never had as many people see one of his movies in the first week ever."

"Even in his successful career, he's never had that many people see one of his movies in the first week ever," Sarandos continued, per Business Insider. "That's a testimony to what we can bring to the market for storytellers today that we couldn't have ten years ago."

While it's difficult to make a direct comparison between streaming views and a theatrical viewing, Sarandos did offer an interesting perspective when it came to how many people watched the new movie.

"If every one of those [20 million streams] was a movie ticket purchase, that's a $200 million opening week," Sarandos noted. "Even movies that go on to $1 billion don't typically do that in the first week."

Another point worth noting is that Sarandos merely confirmed views the film received, which might have been repeat viewings from subscribers. Additionally, Netflix subscribers don't typically sign up for the service for the sake of only watching one specific movie.

The Christmas Chronicles is a holiday adventure from producer Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and director Clay Kaytis (The Angry Birds Movie), tells the story of sister and brother, Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis), whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus (Russell) on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about. After staking out Santa's arrival, they sneak into his sleigh, cause it to crash and nearly derail Christmas. As their wild night unfolds, Kate and Teddy work together with Santa – as you've never seen him before – and his loyal Elves to save Christmas before it's too late.

Russell has been an icon in the industry for decades, kicking off his career in the '60s as a young actor before starring in films like Escape From New York, Big Trouble in Little China, and Backdraft. The actor has joined multiple successful franchises in recent years, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Furious 7, both of which earned the actor his biggest box office returns of his career.

Are you surprised the film scored so many views so quickly? Let us know in the comments below!