Why is everyone watching Woody Woodpecker on Netflix?

❘ Published: 2023-09-11T17:16:20

Universal Pictures

The number one movie on Netflix has viewers a bit baffled: Woody Woodpecker, the 2017 kids cartoon – so why is everyone watching it?

Sometimes, movies find an unexpected lease of life on streaming after seemingly flopping; for example, The Snowman, widely recognized as one of the worst movies of the 2010s, topped the platform’s chart earlier this year.

On other occasions, convenience and long-overdue curiosity can turn something into a phenomenon. Just look at Suits, which originally concluded its nine-season stretch in 2019 but has managed to become one of the biggest shows in streaming history in its unprecedented summer run.

However, this one is a bit of a head-scratcher – or a woodpecker, you could say.

Woody Woodpecker is the number one Netflix movie – but why?

Woody Woodpecker has made a crazily quick climb up to number one on the Netflix chart in the US, ranking above the likes of You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, Snitch, Dredd, and The Eagle.

For those who don’t know, here’s its official synopsis and trailer: “A rascally bird with a distinctive laugh pecks back with a vengeance when his forest habitat is threatened by a slick lawyer building his dream home.”

How this has happened remains a bit of a mystery. The movie, directed by Alex Zamm, was originally released in 2017. It was pretty much dead on arrival, grossing $15.3 million off of its $10 million budget and landing at 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. Everyone knows the original cartoon, but it’s fair to say the movie hasn’t left much of a cultural footprint.

It came to Netflix a year later, but here’s the interesting thing: it’s been slapped with the Netflix logo, indicating it’s been absorbed by the streaming platform as an “original” of sorts. But given there’s been no Woody Woodpecker anniversary or any other viral moment to trigger a mass press-play on the movie, people online have been feeling a bit confused when they’ve logged onto their account.

Does anyone know why the 2017 Woody Woodpecker movie has been the #1 movie on Netflix for several days in a row now?
— Mike Seuffert (@MikeSeuffert) September 10, 2023

“Does anyone know why the 2017 Woody Woodpecker movie has been the #1 movie on Netflix for several days in a row now?” one user wrote.

“@netflix are you really gonna to straight up lie to me that Woody Woodpecker, a 2017 movie with a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.1/10 on IMDB is THE top movie in the US today?” another tweeted.

On Reddit, one user asked why so many people have been watching it. Some people have their conspiracy theories, with one writing: “Netflix doesn’t release their numbers and I’m pretty sure they just put whatever they want on that top list thing. They probably just got the rights to stream it and are trying to make people watch it.”

“Woody Woodpecker is the sh*t,” another wrote, but when they were asked if they’d seen the film, they replied: “Not yet, but soon haha.”

In the meantime, check out our other upcoming Netflix TV & movie hubs below: