Netflix‘s strategic investment in Asian-Pacific filmmaking is yielding significant returns, with APAC members’ film viewing surging nearly 20% in 2024, according to data revealed at the company’s ongoing APAC film showcase in Tokyo.

The streaming giant disclosed that APAC films dominated its Non-English Film Weekly Top 10 charts more than content from any other region last year, with over 100 APAC titles breaking into these rankings. The robust performance underscores Netflix’s expanding footprint in the world’s most populous region.

“The average Netflix member watches seven movies every month,” noted Minyoung Kim, VP of Content for APAC (excluding India), highlighting film’s crucial role in the platform’s engagement strategy. For Netflix India specifically, films represent nearly half of all viewing time – among the highest film engagement rates globally. Indian titles have maintained an unbroken presence in Netflix’s Global Top 10 (Non-English) list every week over the past year.

The showcase underscored Netflix’s dual focus on developing original content while licensing established regional hits. Recent successes span diverse genres and markets, including Japan’s “City Hunter,” Korean action-comedy “Officer Black Belt,” period drama “Uprising,” Yeon Sang-ho’s thriller “Revelations,” Indian courtroom drama “Maharaj,” musical biopic “Amar Singh Chamkila,” and Indonesian action film “The Shadow Strays,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Netflix’s content investments have sparked broader cultural ripples throughout the region. The release of “City Hunter” in Japan boosted sales of the original manga by a staggering 900%, while “Amar Singh Chamkila” introduced the late musician’s work to younger audiences, generating millions of views across social media platforms.

The company is also investing in industry development through filmmaker training initiatives. These include partnerships with the Korean Academy of Film Arts, a fifth VFX Academy to enhance local technical talent, and the Reel Life program providing hands-on experience for emerging filmmakers in Thailand and Indonesia.

“When we invest in local stories it does something else – it supports local jobs and local industries,” Kim told attendees at the showcase. She talked about the company’s commitment to “storytelling that is authentically local and creative, and takes big bold swings.”

With teams now established in nine countries across the APAC region, Netflix appears poised to further capitalize on the region’s rich cinematic traditions, from Japanese classics like “Rashomon” and “Seven Samurai” to the Hong Kong cinema boom and Bollywood spectacles.

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