Six CJ ENM productions hit No. 1 globally on Netflix ... IP expansion into the U.S. and Japan

[Financial News] CJ ENM is continuing its overseas success on OTT platforms with a range of titles, from U.S.-produced films and series to K-dramas and TVING originals. Of the titles released this year, six topped Netflix’s global rankings, and the company also saw success on Disney+ and other platforms.
According to CJ ENM on the 21st, three titles produced by its U.S. subsidiary studio, Fifth Season, reached the top of Netflix’s global charts. The period drama “East of Eden,” starring Florence Pugh, and the crime thriller “Beasts,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck, each ranked No. 1 immediately after their October release in Netflix’s global English-language TV and English-language film categories, respectively.
The psychological thriller “His Story & Her Story,” released earlier, recorded 104 million cumulative views in Netflix’s viewing data for the first half of 2026, ranking No. 1 among all series. That was ahead of “Bridgerton” Season 4, which recorded about 100 million views.
Three Studio Dragon titles also took the weekly No. 1 spot in Netflix’s non-English shows category: “Doctor X: The Era of the White Mafia,” “A Wonderful New World,” produced by Studio Dragon subsidiary Gil Pictures, and “True Education,” whose production involved subsidiary GTist. “100 Days of Lies,” a special 20th-anniversary project for tvN, ranked eighth in FlixPatrol’s global Netflix Top 10 TV Shows chart from the 12th through the 18th.
The romantic comedy “Merry Berry Love,” co-produced by CJ ENM and Japan’s NTV, ranked No. 2 on Disney+’s worldwide TV show chart and entered the Top 10 in 72 countries and regions. The series, starring Ji Chang-wook and Japanese actor Mio Imada, involved production teams from both Korea and Japan.
TVING originals are also making a mark overseas. “Yumi’s Cells Season 3,” produced by Studio Dragon, topped the weekly charts on Rakuten Viki in 81 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania, among other regions. “The Legend of Kitchen Soldier” ranked No. 2 in both the overall and drama categories on Disney+ Japan during its first week of release, and made the Top 3 among Korean dramas in 17 countries and regions in HBO Max’s Asia-Pacific market. “Even the First-Prize Lotto Winner Goes to Work,” which recently concluded, ranked No. 1 in Disney+ Japan’s drama category both during its first week of release and when it ended.
CJ ENM is expanding content production through a multi-studio system connecting Studio Dragon and CJ ENM Studios in Korea, Fifth Season in the U.S., and its local production base in Japan. CJ ENM and Fifth Season are developing at least 10 joint projects, including films and dramas that reflect Korean themes and sensibilities. This past April, it established a joint venture, Studio Monowa, with Japan’s TBS and U-NEXT Holdings.
“The multi-studio system we have established in Korea, the U.S. and Japan is combining the creative capabilities of each market to produce hits that transcend countries and genres,” a CJ ENM representative said. “We will continue to release content aimed at global audiences and develop it into mega IP.”
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter