Australia’s couch potato stats are in – and its all blockbusters and comfort classics.
The holiday hangover has officially settled over Australia, and the first streaming numbers of the year paint a clear picture of how the nation spent its first week of 2026: catching up on the biggest films of late 2025 and retreating into the ultimate comfort nostalgia.
According to the latest charts from JustWatch for the week of December 29 to January 4, Australian living rooms were dominated by high-stakes mysteries, a massive horror revival, and a certain Boy Who Lived.
Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (#2) proves Benoit Blanc still knows how to solve a family argument—holiday leftovers and Daniel Craig’s southern drawl included. But it’s not just whodunits keeping eyes glued: action and horror are dominating. One Battle After Another (#1) is all-out chaos, while Weapons (#3), Sinners (#4), and 28 Years Later (#5) show the horror revival is very much alive.
Brad Pitt’s racing drama F1 (#6) has Australians feeling the need for speed, and of course, nothing soothes the post-holiday soul like a bit of Hogwarts: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (#9) is still casting its spell across generations. Rounding out the chart are family-friendly adventures and the occasional quirky indie hit keeping viewers entertained.
Here’s what Australia is watching right now (Top 10):
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One Battle After Another – Action-packed escapism
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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Murder, mystery, and holiday family drama
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Weapons – Horror revival in full swing
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Sinners – Genre-bending chills from Ryan Coogler
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28 Years Later – Nostalgic rage-virus chaos
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F1 – Brad Pitt and high-speed thrills
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The Lost Kingdom – Epic fantasy adventure for the whole family
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Midnight Echoes – Creepy psychological thriller keeping viewers awake
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Timeless wizarding comfort
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Neon Nights – Stylish indie crime drama making waves on streaming
If the first week of 2026 tells us anything, it’s that Australians want their films to be heart-pounding stories with a touch of nostalgia–and maybe just a little magic to start the year right.
