Ben Affleck has placed Animals at the top of Netflix’s global list of English-language films for the week of October 5–11, 2026, with 23.8 million views. But the same premiere, available in Spain since Friday the 9th, ended up in second place in the Spanish weekly ranking, behind Kraven the Hunter.
The contrast is more revealing than the usual debate between critics and popularity, which has already accompanied the thriller during its first days on the platform. In the same week, an in-house production topped Netflix’s international list while in our country a superhero film originally released in theaters held onto first place.
Animals Is World No. 1, but Not on Netflix Spain
Netflix’s global ranking assigns to Animals 42.8 million hours watched and 23.8 million views during its first week, from October 5 to 11. The one-hour-and-48-minute film secured the top spot among English-language features, ahead of The Letters of Life, which accumulated 18.2 million views.
The Spanish chart paints a different picture. In the weekly Top 10 of Netflix Spain movies for those same dates, Kraven the Hunter was first and Animals second. The Aaron Taylor-Johnson–led production had been on the chart for two weeks; Affleck’s thriller had just joined. Netflix does not publish the number of views per title in that national table, so the order is the useful territorial data.
There’s another detail that matters for reading the comparison correctly: the international list mentioned groups English-language films and shows estimated views, while the Spanish ranking orders the titles available in the country, regardless of language. For the Spanish audience, the week’s news is the real competition between both films, not just the top world position.
The Rip Debuted with 41.6 Million: the Precedent for Affleck
Animals is Affleck’s second major Netflix thriller in 2026. In January he headlined with Matt Damon The Rip, a police thriller directed by Joe Carnahan. That film registered 41.6 million views in its first week, according to Netflix’s official report dated January 12–18.
The gap between the two debuts stands at 17.8 million views. Both features premiered on a Friday and their early weekly rankings cover the launch weekend; thus the initial comparison makes sense, even if it does not measure the long-term staying power of either title.
They also represent different bets. In The Rip, Affleck shared top billing with Damon and took part in a police thriller with a large ensemble. In Animals, besides starring, he also directed and crafted a political and familial intrigue that requires sustaining tension for almost two hours around a single conflict.
A Film With Familiar Faces and an Unexpected Spanish Ranking
Affleck plays Mark Kimball, an aspiring Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose political project and family come under strain after a kidnapping. Kerry Washington plays his wife, and the cast includes Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun. The setup blends power, money, and moral choices in a format that works on its own, without needing a prior franchise.
Critics’ and audiences’ reservations were already explored in another analysis of Animals reception. What now helps refine the balance are the weekly figures: a visible and quantified global debut, a second place in Spain, and a start that is considerably lower than Affleck’s previous Netflix thriller.
Its next test will be the second week: to see how much it falls—or holds up—when the initial momentum fades and new releases arrive. For now, the same Ben Affleck who leads the world on Netflix has not managed to dethrone Kraven in Spain.
