When Netflix was first conceived as a DVD-by-mail business back in 1997 in Scotts Valley, California, there was no way anyone could have foreseen the massive movie powerhouse it would go on to become. Roughly 72.9 million people are subscribed to the streaming service in the United States alone. For comparison, Netflix has an estimated 182 million subscribers worldwide. Even as new streaming services begin to compete for viewership, Netflix continues to prevail over Hulu, Disney+, and others, especially when the pandemic first broke out. With most of the world stuck home with nothing to do, many spent their time binge-watching the shows they had put off for so long.

In just the first three months of 2020, Netflix earned more than 15.7 million subscribers around the world, with 2.3 million of them coming from the United States. As the world stopped and theaters closed, many of those who had not already been a subscriber of the streaming service turned to its vast library of titles for comfort and entertainment. If Netflix’s popularity was not off the charts before, the pandemic made the powerhouse rise even higher. 

Even though movie sets and production were forced to shut down throughout the world, forcing many movies to be delayed, some even canceled, Netflix became the main distributor for new titles, all for just $8.99 a month. Furthermore, Netflix has a plethora of projects in development all year round. Back in 2019, Netflix pledged to release over a hundred new originals to its platform. By the end of the year, they had delivered over 370. While they may have been forced to shut down their future projects for the moment, the streaming service has plenty of titles ready for release. 

With many still stuck at home, with nothing to do, Netflix offers a seemingly endless library of titles from low-budget indie films to massive jam-packed action blockbusters. Whatever it is you are in the mood for, Netflix has it.