Director Jeymes “The Bullitts” Samuel’s The Harder They Fall is a major success for Netflix. The Western topped the Nielsen U.S. Streaming Chart for the week of November 1 to November 7.
According to Deadline, The Harder They Fall amassed 1.2 billion minutes of streaming views during the tracking period. Netflix’s You series came in at #2 with 994 million minutes of viewing.
The Nielsen Media Research firm calculates TV streams from Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video for its chart. Nielsen releases the information the following month.
The Harder They Fall debuted on the Netflix streaming platform on November 3. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole.
Hip Hop superstar Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is one of the producers for The Harder They Fall. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer even set up a personal, verified Instagram account to promote the motion picture before shutting down the page.
Carter also helped oversee the movie’s soundtrack which featured contributions by Kid Cudi, Ms. Lauryn Hill, CeeLo Green, Jadakiss, Conway The Machine, and others. “Guns Go Bang” and “King Kong Riddim” included Jay-Z verses.
“One of the most exciting things is the music. You don’t think of how Westerns influenced the world,” stated Jay-Z. “It was the only thing on TV. You can see the reach when people in Jamaica were dressed in full Western cowboy regalia.”
He added, “The Westerns influenced the musicians of the time and now musicians are influencing the genre. Now, this music is informing the film and the Western. It’s the full circle.”
The Harder They Fall peaked at #2 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart for November 1 to November 7. That same week saw the critically-acclaimed motion picture top Netflix’s Top 10 chart for the United States by bumping Army of Thieves to #2.