Netflix: Productions Contributed $325 Billion to Global Economy Over Last Decade

Netflix productions contributed more than $325 billion in gross value to the global economy over the past decade, according to financial data released in October 2026.

Production Creates Jobs Across Various Industries

The company currently produces movies and series in more than 50 countries, generating economic activity both inside and outside traditional production studios. Before filming begins, production companies hire screenwriters, directors, designers, production crews, and location scouts. During filming, operations require actors, camera operators, technicians, lighting crews, construction workers, makeup artists, wardrobe teams, and sound professionals.

Expenditures extend to food suppliers, transportation companies, hotels, security firms, cleaning services, and property owners who lease spaces for filming. Post-production spending covers editing companies, music services, dubbing, subtitling, animation, visual effects, and technology distribution. Netflix stated that these investments create jobs, develop skills, and strengthen local supplier networks whose revenues circulate back into economies through wages, consumer spending, taxes, and new investments.

Non-English Content Grows via International Creative Hubs

The past decade has seen Netflix shift from relying primarily on United States-produced content to building creative hubs across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. This strategy allows local stories to reach international audiences while increasing demand for talent, studios, and production services outside Hollywood.

During the first half of 2026, non-English-language content accounted for more than one-third of all hours viewed on the platform. The company highlighted titles from Korea, Japan, Spain, India, the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, and Mexico as part of an effort serving a global audience approaching one billion people.

Specific international viewership figures released in the report included the Korean drama Teach You a Lesson with 55 million views. Spanish productions Berlin and The Lady with an Ermine recorded 28 million views, while South Africa’s The Polygamist reached 24 million. The fifth season of the Mexican production Rosario Tijeras accumulated 6 million views by the report's cutoff date.

Popular Productions Drive Global Film Tourism

The economic impact of movies and series often continues long after production concludes. When content achieves international popularity, filming locations frequently transform into tourist destinations, a phenomenon known as film tourism or screen tourism.

Netflix noted that this trend increases interest in cities, restaurants, hotels, landscapes, and experiences tied to specific productions. The company pointed to Squid Game in South Korea as an example of how its programming generates global exposure for destinations and activities that previously had limited international visibility.