We're back with another market for The Monthly Podium. This time it's France, May 2026, and we're looking at which titles kept viewers glued to their screens on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.
Summary: Three platforms, three different top 10s, and each one turned out to have its own real pattern. Netflix’s list was dominated by titles released this year. Amazon’s was a genuine mix of local and international content, three international productions and one local French title sitting alongside the usual English-language content. Every single entry on Disney+ was either a superhero movie or part of an existing franchise.
New to The Monthly Podium? Start with where it all began: the UK's May 2026 breakdown.
1. Netflix
6 of the 10 titles were 2026 releases: Apex, Swapped, Le Bus: Les Bleus en grève, Ladies First, The Crash and Remarkably Bright Creatures. The other 4 span two decades, Joint Custody (2017), Spell (2020), Mercato (2025) and Mindhunters (2004), being Netflix’s oldest title on the top list for May.
The genre spread was wide too, comedy, documentary, horror, action and drama all made the list, with no single genre dominating.
2. Amazon Prime Video
This was the list where the mix of local and international content was most pronounced. Three of the ten titles were international productions: Non è un paese per single (Italy), Venganza (Mexico) and Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (Australia). One was local: C'est le monde à l'envers !, a French and Belgian production.
And one sat in between: The Substance is a UK-US-France co-production, written and directed by a French filmmaker and shot entirely in France. Genre-wise, drama carried the list, five of the ten titles were tagged that way.
3. Disney+
Every single title in Disney+'s top 10 for May was either a superhero film or part of an existing franchise. The Punisher: One Last Kill, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Thunderbolts* were all from the Marvel universe. Freakier Friday, The Devil Wears Prada, Cars, Freaky Friday, Inside Out and Toy Story 4, were all sequels or part of a long-running movie series. Eight of the ten also carried a comedy tag.
4. What this means for placing a title in France
A Netflix subscriber's top 10 was almost entirely new 2026 releases. An Amazon subscriber's list was split between local French and Belgian titles, international productions, and English-language content. A Disney+ subscriber saw nothing but Marvel films and long-running franchises. Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ viewers each had a distinct appetite, and this data shows how people go to different platforms to engage with different types of content.
None of this is a surprise. Disney+ is known for animation and superheroes. Netflix is built on range and new releases, and Amazon's catalogue reflects its wider licensing deals across languages and markets. May's top 10s just show that playing out.
About Digital i
Digital i is the closest you can get to seeing what audiences actually watch, without sharing the couch. Independent, behavioural, decision-grade evidence built on twenty years of panel-based discipline. The Monthly Podium is one small slice of what that data can show. Digital i works with SVOD platforms, studios and rights holders to turn audience behaviour into evidence that holds up under real scrutiny, across the UK, global streaming and YouTube.
Next in The Monthly Podium Series: We will focus on Germany and see which titles made it to the top ten list across Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+ in May 2026.
