Carry-On's Record-Breaking Viewership Proves Netflix Finally Found Its Follow-Up To Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke's Apocalyptic Thriller Adaptation

Carry-On's viewership broke records for Netflix, proving that the streaming service has finally found its follow-up to Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke's apocalyptic thriller adaptation. Carry-On is one of Netflix's biggest original movies of 2024, with the popular Christmas thriller only gaining steam as viewers continue to check the film out headed into the new year. Carry-On's massive success has led to a lot of speculation about the potential future of the franchise, with it being possible to make some predictions based on the success of another similar Netflix Original film from late 2023.

The Commuter director Jaume Collet-Serra has returned to the world of thrillers centered on transportation hubs with Carry-On, a film that follows a TSA agent who becomes wrapped up in a massive criminal conspiracy. Taron Egerton's Ethan Kopek is told that he must let a mysterious package through security if he ever wants to see his wife again, forcing him to find a way to stop the criminals without giving his plan away. Carry-On has been a critical and commercial success for the streaming service, with it quickly smashing records on Netflix.

Carry-On's Popularity Makes It Netflix's Thriller Follow-Up To Leave The World Behind

Can Carry-On Enter Netflix's Top 10?

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Carry-On came out of the gate swinging, with the film amassing a whopping 97 million views in its first 10 days. Carry-On's early streaming success put it on track to become one of Netflix's top 10 most-watched movies of all time, with it still being on track to reach this goal as of the writing of this article. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is currently number 10 on the list, with it having amassed around 136 million views (via Netflix). Thus, Carry-On isn't far from joining the likes of Red Notice, Don't Look Up, Bird Box, and Leave the World Behind.

Carry-On is a perfect companion piece to Leave the World Behind not only due to their Netflix successes and the fact that they are both thrillers, but also because of how they became such big successes. Leave the World Behind was released on Netflix on November 22, 2023, with it picking up steam in the last months of the year and becoming a huge success in early 2024. Carry-On's success has come from a similar tactic, with the film being released on December 13, 2024, and continuing to find success at the start of 2025.

How Carry-On's Record-Breaking 2024 Netflix Viewership Numbers Compare To Leave The World Behind

Carry-On Actually Had A Bigger Debut

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According to Netflix, Carry-On was the streaming service's biggest debut of 2024, with it having the largest opening for Netflix of the entire year. For the week of December 9 to December 15, Carry-On made it to no. 1 on the Global Top 10 chart, with it getting 42 million views. The film then went on to earn a total of 97 million views in just its first 10 days. While the film hasn't cracked Netflix's top 10 most-watched movies of all time just yet, it is continuing to get millions of views in the weeks since it was initially released on the streaming service.

Leave the World Behind received similar viewership upon its initial release in late 2023. From December 4 to December 10, 2023, Leave the World Behind was Netflix's number one film, with it amassing 41.7 million views, just 0.3 million under Carry-On's number. The film made it to 121 million views by the end of 2023, with it entering Netflix's top 10 most-watched movies of all time by January 2024. The film currently has 143.4 million views according to Netflix, showing that the film continued to find success in the weeks and months following its release.

Carry-On Needs To Repeat Leave The World Behind's Smart Sequel Decision

It Doesn't Need One

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Since Carry-On already copied Leave the World Behind's Netflix success, it should also repeat its smart sequel decision. Despite Leave the World Behind being a massive hit for Netflix, there has been no word on a sequel. There isn't an obvious set up for a second story, so while its success means a sequel would probably be profitable for Netflix, it was the right choice to leave the film as it is.

Carry-On is in a similar position. While a Carry-On sequel would probably be another massive success when it comes to viewership, there is no need for a sequel. Any story that a Carry-On sequel could come up with would feel forced, with the Netflix movie working better as a stand-alone film.