‘Spenser Confidential’: Mark Wahlberg’s Netflix Movie Was Watched a Crazy Amount of Times

Given that a majority of the world is currently under self-quarantine amidst the coronavirus crisis, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to hear that many have turned to streaming services such as Netflix in order to pass the time. According to a new report from Variety, there are a few specific programs that viewers have been turning to during this quarantine period. In addition to shows such as Tiger King and Ozark nabbing millions of viewers, Mark Wahlberg‘s film Spenser Confidential also saw many people tuning in to watch the action-comedy, with the movie reportedly being streamed by an impressive 85 million households since its release.

Variety reported that Spenser Confidential, which was directed by Peter Berg and stars Wahlberg, Winston Duke, and Alan Arkin, was checked out by 85 million households since it dropped on Netflix on March 6. It should be noted that Netflix uses a different viewing metric than traditional television. The streaming service counts a household as having viewed a program even if it was on for just about two minutes. Of course, considering that many across the country are at home given the quarantine and safety measures in place, it is understandable to see a great rise in viewership amongst Netflix’s programming. The streaming service even acknowledged that this rise in viewership may not last as self-isolation measures ease up.

“We’re acutely aware that we are fortunate to have a service that is even more meaningful to people confined at home, and which we can operate remotely with minimal disruption in the short to medium term,” Netflix’s statement read. “Like other home entertainment services, we’re seeing temporarily higher viewing and increased membership growth. In our case, this is offset by a sharply stronger U.S. dollar, depressing our international revenue, resulting in revenue-as-forecast. We expect viewing to decline and membership growth to decelerate as home confinement ends, which we hope is soon.”

As previously mentioned, Spenser Confidential was released on Netflix on March 6. Prior to the film’s release, Wahlberg spoke with The Wrap about the feature, which was his first original program for Netflix. In his interview, the actor even addressed the possibility of bringing more of Spenser’s story to Netflix if it’s something that audiences are interested in.

“I love the fact that audiences can decide when and where they want to view it at their own pace and at their own time,” he said. “It’s one of those things if audiences really want it and fall in love with it. The reaction that we’ve gotten thus far seems like they’ll really want another one, and then it’s going to be the task of making it better, cooler and different, and I’ve already talked to Brian Helgeland and Pete about some possible ideas. So, we’ll see what happens.”