Netflix has a new smash hit on its hands, and it barely spent anything on it. Facing El Chapo, the true-crime thriller about the capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, has passed 45 million views since its August 21 release. It has also performed strongly on the non-English chart, with 3.4 million views in its third week.
The film follows two federal police officers who catch Guzmán during a routine patrol. They face a moral choice between turning him in and risking their lives, or letting him walk in exchange for increasingly lavish bribes that could set them up for life. It is a low-budget, grounded take on true events, and it is the latest in a series of original films that Netflix has been quietly breaking records with this year.
The Numbers Behind the Run
- 45 million+ views: Facing El Chapo has passed this milestone since its August 21 release
- 3.4 million views: Current weekly figure on Netflix’s non-English movie top ten
- Fourth place: The film’s position on that chart
- 9.5 million views: Ghandari’s second-week total, the current leader
- Top ten combined: Facing El Chapo would still rank near the bottom of both English and non-English charts
What the Chart Sits
Facing El Chapo has fallen from the top spot on Netflix’s weekly global rankings but remains a fixture. It sits fourth on the non-English chart and would slot between The Hard Corps at #6 and Untold Mr. T: I Pity the Fool at #7 if it were on the English list.
The film has performed well despite a fraction of the budget and advertising of its predecessors.
How the Year Has Shaped Up
Netflix’s 2026 slate has been strong. Two new titles on the platform’s global top ten in all-time viewership — the Alan Ritchson-led sci-fi actioner War Machine and Michael B. Jordan-starring animated comedy Swapped — were released this year. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s latest team-up, The Rip, launched to 41.6 million views in three days, becoming the biggest launch for the streamer since Happy Gilmore 2.
| Film | Lead | Genre | Views |
|---|---|---|---|
| War Machine | Alan Ritchson | Sci-fi action | N/A |
| Swapped | Michael B. Jordan | Animated comedy | N/A |
| The Rip | Matt Damon | Action | 41.6 million |
| Facing El Chapo | Spanish-language | True crime | 45 million+ |
The Verdict on the Run
Facing El Chapo is a low-budget, grounded true-crime story that has become a global fixture on Netflix. Its 3.4 million weekly views on the non-English chart show it still has legs. The film has passed 45 million views and remains one of the most popular titles on the platform.
The streamer’s chart performance this year suggests a mix of budget and audience response. Facing El Chapo has not just matched that pattern — it has passed it, quietly.
See the video the story is built around at Collider.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.