HBO Max once again claimed pole position, this time through franchise firepower rather than fresh IP. According to Reelgood's latest data for the week of January 15–21, HBO Max secured the #1 spot with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, while simultaneously proving platform depth that is really hard to match.
HBO Max: Franchise Power Meets Catalog Resilience
The ascent of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to the top spot isn't all that surprising. In the post-holiday window where viewers gravitate toward safe bets over risky unknowns, HBO Max leaned into the gravitational pull of the Game of Thrones universe. It deployed established IP when attention spans are tentative, and audiences want comfort wrapped in spectacle.
But the real story isn't just the crown, it's the depth. HBO Max holds three of also demonstrating platform depth that is difficultthe Top 6 slots, with The Pitt (#5) and One Battle After Another (#6) proving last week's breakouts weren't flash-in-the-pan curiosity. The Pitt's sustained Top 6 presence suggests Noah Wyle's medical drama has converted early samplers into committed viewers, while One Battle After Another holding ground a full week later indicates genuine engagement, not algorithmic front-loading.
Prime Video: Volume Over Victory
While HBO Max took the throne, Prime Video is playing a different game entirely, and arguably, they're winning it. The platform landed Steal (#2) and Sinners (#3) in immediate succession, a one-two punch that signals momentum built on breadth instead of a single cultural moment. Steal, Prime's heist thriller, benefits from the genre's evergreen appeal, while Sinners (Ryan Coogler's vampire thriller) continues its climb from last week's #9 position, suggesting word-of-mouth is compounding rather than fading.
Prime's strategy remains volume-driven and unapologetically eclectic, and it's working. With Beast Games (#9) keeping unscripted content in the conversation, the platform is covering every base: franchise IP, genre plays, and reality spectacle. It's not sexy, but it's effective.
Netflix: The Comfort Machine Keeps Churning
Netflix's The Rip (#4) lands squarely in the middle of the chart, a positioning that feels emblematic of the platform's current identity. Meanwhile, His & Hers (#7) continues to convert steady interest, proving Netflix's stranglehold on relationship-driven content remains intact. These aren't necessarily the flashy wins that generate headlines, but they're the kind of consistent engagement that keeps churn rates low and subscribers sticky.
The Wildcards and the Holdouts
Peacock Premium's Bugonia (#10) rounds out the Top 10 for the second consecutive week, a quiet but significant achievement for a platform still fighting for visibility. Yorgos Lanthimos's sci-fi comedy holding ground suggests curiosity-driven clicks are converting into actual viewing time, a somewhat rare feat in a market where attention is ruthlessly fragmented.
Apple TV's Landman (#8) continues its slow-burn climb, proving Taylor Sheridan's serialized storytelling still has pull even on a platform with a fraction of Netflix's subscriber base.
What It Means
This week's rankings underscore a market where platforms are doubling down on distinct identities rather than chasing homogeneity. HBO Max is weaponizing franchise recognition and catalog depth. Prime Video is winning through sheer volume and genre diversity. Netflix is coasting on comfort and accessibility. And he smaller streamers, like Peacock and Apple TV, are finding oxygen in the gaps.
The question now is whether these strategies hold when the tentpoles arrive, or if the next big swing scrambles the board entirely.
