This New Romantic Comedy Just Took Over Netflix’s Number One Spot

Netflix subscribers across the globe have fallen in love with the streamer’s newest romantic comedy. The Kissing Booth 3, the final installment of the Joey King-starring franchise that first premiered back in 2018, is taking the streamer by storm. In the week since its premiere, the film has scaled Netflix‘s global streaming charts to take the top spot.

The Kissing Booth 3 landed on the streaming platform on Wednesday, Aug. 11 and continued the story of Elle Evans, the lovestruck teen who, in the first film, sparked a forbidden romance with her long-time crush, Flynn, after they ended up in a kissing booth together. After the second film found Elle as a high school senior juggling a long-distance relationship and college apps, The Kissing Booth 3 jumped to the summer before Elle heads off to college. Facing the hardest decision of her life – whether to move across the country with her dreamy boyfriend Noah or fulfill her lifelong promise to go to college with her BFF Lee — she must decide whose heart to break.

Currently, the film is the No. 1 movie worldwide on Netflix for Friday, Aug. 19, according to FlixPatrol data. It beats out the likes of the hit mystery thriller Beckett, which comes in at No. 2, and the animated children’s musical Vivo at No. 3. However, in the United States, its popularity has faltered slightly. Although The Kissing Booth 3 debuted to the No.1 spot on both charts, in the more than a week since its debut, the film has slipped to No. 8 on the streamer’s U.S. overall chart, coming in just ahead of Hit & Run and Black Island, and falling just behind Grace & Frankie, the series that surprise-released four episodes from its final season last Friday. Among movies in the U.S., The Kissing Booth ranks No. 3 behind Beckett and Vivo, which has maintained its No. 1 spot.

The film’s popularity isn’t necessarily a surprise. All installments of The Kissing Booth franchise have been met with plenty of fanfare, with the first film’s release back in 2018 having garnered plenty of social media craze, prompting the announcement of The Kissing Booth 2, which debuted in July 2020. Given the film’s popularity, and the popularity of the franchise as a whole, some have wondered and are hoping the franchise could continue with a fourth installment. Speaking to Extra following The Kissing Booth 3‘s premiere, King said she is “not saying no to anything,” teasing that “if someone approaches me in the next several years, being like, ‘Do you want to reboot Elle Evans?’ maybe I’ll say yes, maybe I’ll say no. I’ll just have to feel it out.”

The Kissing Booth 3 is available for streaming on Netflix alongside the first two installments of the franchise. Fans of rom-coms can also check out all three installments of the To All the Boys franchise. Netflix announced in January of this year that it would be ending both of the popular franchises, which both debuted in 2018.