Netflix's Facing El Chapo Hits 18 Million Views Globally

Netflix's new crime thriller, Facing El Chapo, has become the number one movie worldwide on the platform, accumulating 18 million views in its first week [2, 3]. The 91-minute film, released on August 21, 2026, quickly topped both the non-English language and overall global charts, surpassing other major Netflix releases [1, 2, 3].

Global Performance and Context

Facing El Chapo, directed by Chava Cartas, quickly rose to the top spot on Netflix's global movie charts after its August 21 release [1, 2]. The film's 18 million views in its debut week significantly outpaced other titles, including the second-place non-English film A Child of My Own, which had 6.2 million views, and the top English-language film Don't Say Good Luck, with 12.8 million views [2]. This performance highlights a growing trend of international titles achieving widespread success on the platform, following hits like Under Paris and Troll, which both exceeded 100 million views [3].

The film, also known as La Captura in Spanish, is inspired by the true story of the 2016 recapture of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán [1, 2, 3]. Starring Alfonso Herrera and Noé Hernández as two police officers, the narrative dramatizes the events surrounding Guzmán's arrest after his 2015 prison escape [1, 2]. The familiarity of the "El Chapo" story, previously dramatized in Netflix's El Chapo series which began in 2017, is cited as a key factor in the film's rapid ascent [1, 3]. Despite being a relatively low-budget production and lacking significant critical review scores, the true-crime appeal and action-thriller genre contributed to its broad audience engagement [2, 3].

What to watch

• Monitor Facing El Chapo's sustained viewership in the coming weeks to see if it maintains its top global position [1].
• Observe whether Netflix continues to prioritize and promote non-English language original content, particularly within the crime thriller genre, given this success [3].
• Look for future Netflix releases that leverage well-known true crime narratives or figures, potentially building on the appeal demonstrated by Facing El Chapo [1, 3].

The strong debut of Facing El Chapo underscores the continued global demand for crime thrillers and the increasing impact of non-English language original content on Netflix's platform performance.