‘Encanto’ Outranks Every Other Hit Movie From 2022

As it turns out, everyone is talking about Bruno despite the Disney song telling us not to — and everyone has been watching his movie, too!

A recent study by Nielsen (which gauged films’ popularity on streaming services by observing the “total minutes viewed”) has revealed that Encanto didn’t just become the most popular and most-watched movie on Disney+; it also became ‘”the top streaming movie” overall, even when competing against live-action movies meant for adults!

As journalist Scott Gustin put it, “Encanto was the top streaming movie in 2022 and it wasn’t close. Turning Red, Sing 2, Moana, and The Adam Project round out the top 5”.

Encanto was the top streaming movie in 2022 and it wasn’t close. Turning Red, Sing 2, Moana, and The Adam Project round out the top 5 (measured by total minutes viewed via Nielsen). pic.twitter.com/RMiKV8Cd0W

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 26, 2023

Moana is a bit of a surprise, since the animated Disney princess movie was indeed a hit but came to theaters back in 2016 — and since Disney+ has had many original movies or shows’ premieres on its platform since 2020. Disney+ has gone for what some would call a “quantity over quality” approach in its first years of existence, with multiple Marvel, Disney, Pixar, or Star Wars projects coming to the streaming service.

Turning Red is one such Pixar movie that was released in 2022 and came in second on the list after Encanto — but the gap between the winner’s numbers and the runner-up’s numbers is significant. Turning Red also elicited many controversial reactions from its audiences after its premiere, in part due to its “cringeworthy” style and the focus on certain themes.

The Madrigal family: Luisa (voiced by Jessica Darrow), Isabela (voiced by Diane Guerrero), the matriarch Abuela Alma (voiced by María Cecilia Botero), Felix (voiced by Mauro Castillo), Julieta (voiced by Angie Cepeda), Pepa (voiced by Carolina Gaitán), Agustín (voiced by Wilmer Valderrama), Camilo (voiced by Rhenzy Feliz), Antonio (voiced by Ravi Cabot-Conyers), and Dolores (voiced by Adassa) and Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). John Leguizamo voices Bruno (not pictured). ‘Encanto’ is directed by Charise Castro Smith. Credit: movies.disney.com

The fact that even a movie with A-list celebrity and fan-favorite actor Ryan Reynolds starring in it — in this case, The Adam Project — was not able to beat out Encanto in the rankings is even more surprising. The Netflix film did come in fifth, but was nowhere near Encanto‘s high numbers.

The Madrigal family: Luisa (voiced by Jessica Darrow), Isabela (voiced by Diane Guerrero), the matriarch Abuela Alma (voiced by María Cecilia Botero), Felix (voiced by Mauro Castillo), Julieta (voiced by Angie Cepeda), Pepa (voiced by Carolina Gaitán), Agustín (voiced by Wilmer Valderrama), Camilo (voiced by Rhenzy Feliz), Antonio (voiced by Ravi Cabot-Conyers), and Dolores (voiced by Adassa) and Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). John Leguizamo voices Bruno (not pictured). ‘Encanto’ is directed by Charise Castro Smith. Credit: Disney

Other live-action movies starring celebrities and award-winning actors like Jennifer Lawrence (Don’t Look Up), Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling (The Gray Man), and even the trio of actresses who play witches in Hocus Pocus were still nowhere near as popular as Encanto.

Disney has clearly started to capitalize on the animated movie’s popularity, with a new Disney Park Encanto attraction in the works and a live concert (which starred the voice actors who voiced the Madrigal family) already available to watch on Disney+.

Did you expect Encanto to be as big a hit as it was? Did you like the movie and rewatch it more than once yourself? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!