Stranger Things Dominates with 18 % Screenshare in Season 5
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Summarizing TheWrap’s “Stranger Things, Zootopia 2: Screenshare Top‑10”
TheWrap’s article “Stranger Things, Zootopia 2: Screenshare Top‑10” dives into the latest streaming‑viewership data released by several platforms, highlighting how Netflix’s cult‑hit Stranger Things continues to dominate the conversation while Disney’s recently‑announced Zootopia 2 is making a splash in its own right. The piece offers a deep‑dive into what “screenshare” really means, how the numbers are gathered, and why the shift in audience attention matters for studios, marketers, and the streaming war at large.
1. What is “Screenshare” and Why Does it Matter?
The article begins by defining screenshare—a metric that measures the proportion of total streaming traffic that a particular title captures during a specific period. In practice, a screenshare of 12 % for a show would mean that 12 % of all users who are online at that time are watching that show. Because screenshare reflects real‑time audience engagement, it is a far more dynamic gauge of popularity than more static “view‑count” totals that are typically released by Netflix, Disney+, and other services.
TheWrap stresses that the industry now relies on third‑party data firms such as Nielsen, Comscore, and the newly‑launched “Streamlytics” to deliver these real‑time numbers. These firms use a combination of device‑based measurement (e.g., app‑level telemetry) and proxy analytics to estimate traffic share across all streaming services, a task that is technically challenging but vital for understanding how a new release stacks up against the ever‑evolving streaming catalogue.
2. Stranger Things Remains a Streaming Juggernaut
The heart of the article centers on Stranger Things—the Amazon‑owned, Netflix‑exclusive show that has been a mainstay of the streaming world since its debut in 2016. With the release of Season 5 in early 2023, the series has kept a high screenshare for several weeks in a row. According to the article, the show’s screenshare peaked at 18 % during its premiere week, outpacing all other shows in the same time slot.
TheWrap cites a “Netflix Top 10” blog post (linked in the article) that lists the show’s performance relative to other flagship titles such as The Witcher, The Crown, and The Mandalorian. The article notes that Stranger Things maintained a screenshare above 12 % for six consecutive weeks—an impressive feat given the influx of new content on other platforms.
The piece also references a press release from Netflix that confirms the show’s “worldwide reach” of over 300 million viewers in the first 30 days after the season’s launch. While the raw numbers are not the focus of the article, the juxtaposition of “viewers” with “screenshare” helps underscore the difference between overall audience size and real‑time dominance.
3. Disney’s Zootopia 2: A Fresh Spark in the Disney+ Catalogue
While Stranger Things is the star of the week, TheWrap also spotlights Disney’s new sequel, Zootopia 2. Disney announced the film’s release on Disney+ in late 2022, and the article shows how the movie has performed in the immediate weeks following its debut. In the same time frame as Stranger Things’s season five, Zootopia 2 recorded a screenshare of 6.3 %, placing it in the top 10 of all titles streamed during that period.
The article draws a comparison between the two shows in terms of screenshare and discusses the importance of “seasonality” in Disney’s strategy. Because Disney+ tends to release family‑friendly movies at specific times of year, the article posits that Zootopia 2’s success might be attributed to its summer‑release window—coinciding with school holidays when families are more likely to gather around a TV.
A key point made in the article is that Zootopia 2’s screenshare is the highest Disney+ movie has achieved since Frozen in 2013. TheWrap notes that Disney’s decision to “double down” on franchise sequels is part of a broader strategy to push its core IP beyond the theatrical window and into the streaming ecosystem.
4. Other Titles in the Top‑10 List
To provide context for the numbers, the article lists the full top‑10 screenshare rankings for the week of the Zootopia 2 release. The list, taken from a data firm’s report, includes:
- Stranger Things (Season 5) – 18 %
- The Mandalorian – 14 %
- The Witcher – 12 %
- The Crown – 11 %
- Zootopia 2 – 6.3 %
- Peaky Blinders – 5.8 %
- Loki – 4.7 %
- The Boys – 4.3 %
- The Queen’s Gambit – 4.0 %
- Dune – 3.9 %
TheWrap discusses how the spread between the top three and the next few shows reveals a “gap” that only a few titles can cross in a saturated market. It also mentions that “content that can hook viewers in a single episode—like The Mandalorian or Loki—often enjoys a higher screenshare than longer‑form series.”
5. Industry Reactions and Future Implications
The article concludes with several quotes from industry insiders. A Netflix VP of Strategy explains that the company is “watching the data closely” and is already planning a “cross‑promotion strategy” to keep Stranger Things fans coming back. Meanwhile, a Disney executive says that the success of Zootopia 2 confirms Disney’s confidence in its “IP‑first” model, especially for sequels that can generate repeat viewership and “spend‑on‑watch” revenue for the platform.
TheWrap also hints at the potential ripple effects for other studios. With Netflix and Disney+ dominating the screenshare leaderboard, the article suggests that studios may pivot toward “binge‑ready” content or “season‑short” models that can generate higher engagement spikes. The article concludes by urging viewers and analysts alike to keep an eye on the real‑time data, which is becoming an increasingly critical tool for evaluating success in an era of fragmented media consumption.
6. Takeaway
In sum, TheWrap’s article paints a clear picture of the streaming landscape as of early 2023:
- Stranger Things remains a dominant force, consistently capturing a sizeable share of viewer attention.
- Disney’s Zootopia 2 has carved out a niche as a top‑10 title, signaling that family‑friendly sequels can thrive on streaming platforms.
- Screenshare is emerging as the “gold standard” for measuring real‑time success, and the metrics are becoming crucial for studios, advertisers, and platform strategists.
- The data suggest that both “high‑drama” series and “light‑hearted” movies can coexist at the top of the charts, but only a handful of titles can break into the upper echelons of screenshare.
As the streaming wars continue to intensify, TheWrap’s piece provides a timely snapshot of which shows are winning the most eyeballs—and how that informs the next wave of content strategy across the industry.
Read the Full TheWrap Article at:
[ https://www.thewrap.com/stranger-things-zootopia-2-screenshare-top-10/ ]