Disney+ Movie Continues to Top Netflix and Other Streamers Months After Release

In case you haven't heard, Encanto has been an absolutely unstoppable force since arriving on Disney+. Disney's latest animated hit performed fairly well at the box office when it was released in theaters on Thanksgiving. When it was added to Disney+ on Christmas Eve, the film's popularity soared to a whole new level. Encanto has become a legitimate phenomenon over the last couple of months, and the streaming data certainly backs that up.

This week, Nielsen released its latest batch of streaming viewership data, reflecting what American audiences streamed between January 31st and February 6th, Encanto had already been on Disney+ for over a month, but that didn't stop it from delivering more than double the viewership of its closest competition. 

Throughout that week, Encanto was watched for more than 1.3 billion minutes, per Nielsen's ratings. The second-most-watched film in that span was the Netflix original comedy Home Team, which was viewed for almost 600 million minutes. Despite being a brand new release, Home Team couldn't even deliver half of Encanto's audience.

These streaming numbers simply reflect what we already know: Encanto is one of Disney's biggest hits in years. The soundtrack is even outperforming that of Frozen, and Disney CEO Bob Chapek continues to refer to Encanto as the company's "next franchise." 

Encanto tells the story of a young Colombian woman named Mirabel, who is part of the magical Madrigal family. Everyone in her family is given a special "gift" when they're young, but Mirabel never received one, leading her to question her place in the Madrigal legacy. The film is directed by Bush and Byron Howard, with Charise Castro Smith serving as co-director. Bush and Castro Smith wrote the screenplay. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda helped come up with the story for Encanto and wrote new music for the film. 

Encanto stars Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Jessica Darrow, Diane Guerrero, Angie Cepeda, Wilmer Valderrama, Carolina Gaitan, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, and Ravi Cabot-Conyers.

Are you surprised by Encanto's streaming dominance? Have you been watching it since it arrived on Disney+? Let us know in the comments!