Illustration by What’s on Netflix
After 25 years in operation, Netflix’s DVD mail service is coming to an end by the end of September 2023. As the service comes to a close, we wanted to open the books and look at what discs were shipped the most over the years, and below, we’ve been given the top 100 movies that were rented over the past two and a half decades.
As you may have heard a little earlier in the year, Netflix DVD is coming to a close, having been in operation since 1997. While much of Netflix’s focus has been on streaming over the past decade or so, Netflix DVD has been quietly chugging away in the background, sending millions of discs across the US.
In that announcement from Ted Sarandos, who said they want the service “to go out on a high,” it was revealed that 5.2 billion discs had been shipped, and the most popular title of all time was The Blind Side.
Now we can expand on that with the full top 100 movies.
One quick observation before we dive in. The number of shipments is what’s measured to produce this list, so what you’ll notice is that the movies that do the best are from when Netflix DVD was at its peak in terms of subscribers, which is the mid-to-late 2000s.
Most Rented Movies in Netflix DVD.com History
Without further ado, let’s dive into the top 100, starting with The Blind Side taking home the crown.
- The Blind Side (2009)
- Crash (2005)
- The Hurt Locker (2008)
- The Departed (2006)
- The Bucket List (2007)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- Inception (2010)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Date Night (2010)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Up in the Air (2009)
- The Social Network (2010)
- John Adams (2008)
- Red (2010)
- Gran Torino (2008)
- The King’s Speech (2010)
- Avatar (2009)
- Band of Brothers (2001)
- Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- The Proposal (2009)
- The Book of Eli (2010)
- The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
- The Notebook (2004)
- It’s Complicated (2009)
- Blood Diamond (2006)
- Inside Man (2006)
- Invictus (2009)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- State of Play (2009)
- Casino Royale (2006)
- Crazy Heart (2009)
- Changeling (2008)
- Gone Baby Gone (2007)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Twilight (2008)
- The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- Seven Pounds (2008)
- The Hangover (2009)
- The Tourist (2010)
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
- The Town (2010)
- Babel (2006)
- Taken (2008)
- Black Swan (2010)
- Knight and Day (2010)
- Michael Clayton (2007)
- True Grit (2010)
- The Holiday (2006)
- Get Smart (2008)
- Valkyrie (2008)
- Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
- Shooter (2007)
- The Illusionist (2006)
- Star Trek (2009)
- P.S. I Love You (2007)
- Déjà Vu (2006)
- Burn After Reading (2008)
- Body of Lies (2008)
- The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
- Hotel Rwanda (2004)
- Walk the Line (2005)
- Public Enemies (2009)
- The Da Vinci Code (2006)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
- Into the Wild (2007)
- Couples Retreat (2009)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
- Juno (2007)
- Knowing (2009)
- The Queen (2006)
- Julie & Julia (2009)
- The Prestige (2006)
- The Soloist (2009)
- Fracture (2007)
- Unstoppable (2010)
- Eagle Eye (2008)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
- (500) Days of Summer (2009)
- The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- The Switch (2010)
- American Gangster (2007)
- The Lovely Bones (2009)
- Up (2009)
- Salt (2010)
- The Fighter (2010)
- Valentine’s Day (2010)
- Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
- Atonement (2007)
- Doubt (2008)
- The Last King of Scotland (2006)
- Due Date (2010)
- Man on Fire (2004)
- Knocked Up (2007)
- The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
- I Love You, Man (2009)
In addition to getting the list of most rented movies, we’ve also been given access to the top 100 most rented TV box sets too, which we published yesterday. A few were surprised with the rankings, especially in the top 10, so make sure to check that out.
What movie have you rented the most from Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.