Nielsen Streaming Top 10: ‘Lightyear’ Scores No. 3 Spot in Disney+ Opening Weekend, ‘The Sandman’ Debuts at No. 4

During the Aug. 1 – Aug. 7 viewing window, Disney’s “Lightyear” soared to the No. 3 place on the Nielsen streaming programs chart, raking in 1.3 billion minutes viewed after its premiere on Disney+. The “Toy Story” spinoff scored No. 1 on the movies list, leading Netflix’s “Uncharted,” which premiered on Aug. 5 to 1 billion minutes watched.

“The Sandman” broke into Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings following its Aug. 5 release date at No. 4. In its first three days of availability, the fantasy drama based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book series, recorded 1.02 billion minutes viewed. The show followed the platform’s traditional playbook and released 10 episodes on its original release date, as well as a surprise bonus episode two weeks later on Aug. 19.

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Looking at the Top 10 streaming programs overall, Netflix’s “Stranger Things” has taken the reins to the No. 1 slot back with 1.4 billion minutes watched. The program overthrew “Virgin River,” which held the spot for two weeks following its Season 4 debut on July 22. This marks the eighth weekly win for “Stranger Things” this year.

The romantic drama “Virgin River” recorded 1.39 billion minutes viewed during this viewing window, which is a 42% drop from the prior week’s 2.4 billion minutes watched.

In its third week of availability, Ryan Gosling’s Netflix movie “The Gray Man” fell to fifth spot on the Streaming Movies chart below Netflix’s “Purple Hearts” and Hulu’s “Prey.” The action-thriller earned 561 million minutes watched –– a stark drop from the 1.4 billion minutes viewed during the July 25-July 31 viewing window.

Elsewhere on the chart was “Cocomelon” (741), “Keep Breathing” (722), “NCIS” (692) and “Grey’s Anatomy” (678).

See Nielsen’s newest Top 10 streaming rankings below, with overall streaming titles for (Aug. 1 – Aug. 7) first, followed by original streaming titles, acquired titles and then films.

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