Twenty-five years after appearing together in Pearl Harbor, Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck are finding renewed success on Netflix. The duo is finding success on the streamer with two very different projects.
Hartnett’s thriller series Below and Affleck’s crime thriller Animals have each topped their respective English-language Netflix charts for three consecutive weeks. According to Netflix’s latest viewership report, in its third week on the chart, Below ranked No. 1 on Netflix’s English-language TV list with 7.7 million views. The series has amassed 45.9 million views to date.
Hartnett plays a fisherman who tries to protect his hometown in Newfoundland from a dangerous sea creature. The mysterious limited series has kept viewers watching as its story unfolds around the threat lurking offshore.
Affleck’s Animals also maintained its No. 1 position, leading Netflix’s English-language film chart for the third consecutive week. The thriller collected 10.7 million views during the latest reporting period, bringing its cumulative total to 65.3 million.
Affleck directs and stars in the film as Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. As he and his wife, played by Kerry Washington, scramble to raise the ransom, they face a series of dangerous decisions. The cast also includes Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, and Luis Gerardo Mendez.
Ben Affleck’s Animals adds to Netflix’s winning streak
Animals joins a string of Netflix films that have drawn large audiences in 2026. The streamer has increasingly focused on mid-budget genre projects, including crime thrillers, psychological dramas and science fiction titles.
Earlier this year, Affleck reunited with Matt Damon for The Rip, another crime thriller that drew a large Netflix audience. Other successful releases included Thrash, Apex, Swapped and War Machine, which has accumulated more than 150 million views. Meanwhile, The Last House surpassed 90 million views, and The Whisper Man topped 80 million.
Despite its high viewership, Animals has received mixed reviews. The film has a 32% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, with criticism directed at its writing despite praise for Washington’s performance.
Originally reported on ComingSoon.net.
