Many wondered if One Piece could keep up its current placement in its second week, especially with the worry it might be enough for Netflix to renew it. A drop of any kind would not bode well given just how invested Netflix is to ensure they have their next “Stranger Things” after Wednesday and The Night Agent surprised with a massive viewer base early on. Still, an adaptation of a manga that’s a bit more “cartoony” would still be a challenge and raises questions if something more out there could still get an audience.
Luckily, it seems the new live-action adaptation held strong in its second second week. While Deadline says it “ballooned” the numbers aren’t quite what one saw with the previously mentioned shows or even Queen Charlotte earlier this year. Still, it pulled in 18.5M views in its first week and grew to add another 19.3M in its second. While it got dethroned in a few countries, such as big markets like the US by Virgin River’s fifth season and the final season of Top Boy, it still is around double what those shows pulled in their first four days. A bigger discrepancy when compared to its competition last week with Who is Erin Carter? that dropped to third place this week.
The view count now stands at a total of 285.8M viewed hours with 37.8M views. There’s still some time to go if it wants to kick Queen Charlotte from its 10th spot at around 526.8M hours viewed over 91 days, it’s certainly a good start for a new series. Some fans might be hoping for the series to absolutely destroy the ratings but even with strong word-of-mouth, it’s still a bit more of a jump to get people to try out a new show. The big question is how will it hold in its third week, as a big drop could certainly hurt its chances for a second season.
It should be noted that audience data for One Piece, according to Deadline, might be a very enticing factor for Netflix. They love Social Media and it seems on TikTok alone the hashtag #onepiecenetflix has led to 4 billion search impressions. That’s a strong number for them seeking social engagement and hoping to build a new brand that could compete with others. Not everything will perform like Wednesday, perhaps not even Wednesday when its second season drops.
We don’t know if Netflix deems their investment worth and with the new calculations, their data assessment might also be quite a bit different moving forward. Plus, while many like to compare to other shows we do need to take into account that this is a summer release which doesn’t always mean the same amount of people are spending it at home when compared to another time frame like Wednesday’s fall release. With it still ranking as one of the highest openings and a decent hold, it does have a good chance for that renewal. Here’s hoping Netflix just pays its writers and actors fairly.
