North Road’s Hits Dominate Netflix Worldwide

The former News Corp chief is turning his new company into a hit factory. North Road and its labels have pushed two titles to the top of Netflix’s global charts in a single week. The film “Apex, ” starring Charlize Theron, drew more than 40 million views in its second week. It is the most‑watched English‑language movie on the platform right now. The TV series “Man on Fire, ” led by Yahya Abdul‑Mateen II, captured 11 million viewers and tops the English‑language TV list. Both productions were created by North Road’s creative teams, led by producers Chernin, Topping and others.North Road is the first independent studio to reach this dual peak; larger companies like Sony have done it before, but not on an independent scale. The company plans to grow even bigger after a merger with the French producer Mediawan, which could make it one of the largest independent content makers. Netflix heavily promoted “Apex” with a big marketing push, including billboards in Times Square and an exciting soundtrack that reached Spotify’s Viral 50. While there are no confirmed plans for a sequel or another season yet, the studio’s leaders say they will talk about it soon. The success shows that North Road can produce high‑quality, diverse content that appeals to viewers worldwide.