Tyler Perry’s “Doing Life” finished the week of Oct. 12-18 at No. 2 on Netflix’s global movie chart with 7.3 million views and 13.1 million hours watched. It has now ranked in the top three for all three weeks since its Oct. 2 release, though weekly views have fallen sharply from their peak.
Where Doing Life Ranks on the Netflix Top 10 Movies List
Netflix’s weekly global list for Oct. 12-18 puts “Doing Life” second, according to the company’s Top 10 page. The film has a 1 hour, 48 minute runtime. The list puts “Animals” first with 30.8 million views. “Ice Age: Collision Course” is third with 6.3 million, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” fourth with 4.9 million and “Ice Age 2” fifth with 4.8 million. The film sits ahead of five “Ice Age” titles in the top 10. The gap to the top spot is 23.5 million views, a figure calculated from Netflix’s two published totals.
How Doing Life Viewership Changed Across Three Weeks
Netflix publishes a new chart every week, and the film has appeared on all three since it arrived. Its first report covered only a partial week. Perry’s site lists the film as “now streaming” on Friday, Oct. 2, so the Sept. 28-Oct. 4 report captures three days of viewing. In that window, Netflix reported 9.3 million views and 16.8 million hours, good for No. 3 behind “Unabomber” at 24.9 million and “The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part” at 11.6 million.
The first full week was the high point. For Oct. 5-11, Netflix listed the film at 18.2 million views and 32.8 million hours, second to “Animals” at 23.8 million. The most recent week brought 7.3 million views.
Three calculations from those published numbers show the pattern. All three are arithmetic, not Netflix figures:
- The three reports add up to 34.8 million views and 62.7 million hours.
- Views fell about 60% from the first full week to the second, from 18.2 million to 7.3 million.
- Average daily views were about 3.1 million over the three-day opening, about 2.6 million across thefirst full week and about 1 million in the latest week.
A second calculation checks the hours column. Dividing each week’s hours by the 1.8-hour runtime gives 9.3 million, 18.2 million and 7.3 million, which match the reported views. Each week’s hours total matches its views times the runtime.
The 7.3 million views in the latest week are 40% of the prior week’s total, and the film still held its No. 2 spot.
What Doing Life Is About and Who Made It
Netflix’s description of the film calls it “a gritty and gripping urban drama.” Perry wrote and directed it and produced it with Angi Bones and Tony L. Strickland, according to Netflix. The rating is TV-MA. The cast announcement on Perry’s site names Naomi Baker, known for “All American: Homecoming,” and Jay Reeves, who appeared in “The Six Triple Eight,” as the leads. The supporting cast includes Tamberla Perry, Karen Obilom, Jasmine Sargent and Danielle Moné Truitt.
The story follows a single mother fighting for survival and a reformed ex-convict with untapped talent who form an unexpected bond. Reeves told Moviefone in an interview published Oct. 2 that it was his second Perry film, after “The Six Triple Eight.” In that conversation he said, “Working with Mr. Perry is always the best time to me.” Moviefone contributor Jami Philbrick conducted the interview.
What the Doing Life Stars Said About the Film
The two leads gave separate interviews around launch week. Reeves told AfroTech in its own interview, published Oct. 5, that “unconditional love is the main thing the movie taught me.” AfroTech’s piece also covers how Perry’s sets let actors bring their own choices to a role and what working for him can mean for a performer’s career. Baker said in the same piece that she wants to carry what Perry taught her into her next opportunity.
In the Moviefone interview, Baker described being honored when Perry called her about the script. She said Perry was collaborative on set and that his support raised her confidence. Reeves said the two leads got to know each other before filming and talked through the script together. He described the bond between the characters, Anika and Carousel, as intense, with each searching for the other and for themselves. He also said Perry brought in skilled stunt performers so the prison riot sequence could be staged safely.
Why the Doing Life Chart Run is Settled Data
Netflix has closed the books on all three weeks it has reported, so the figures above will not change. The next report, covering Oct. 19-25, will add a fourth data point. The company posts each week’s list on its Top 10 site, where the views, hours and runtime for a given title appear together.
The film never reached No. 1. “Unabomber” held that spot in its opening report and “Animals” in the two that followed. In its second full week on the chart it still ranked second ahead of five “Ice Age” titles. Across 17 days from release through Oct. 18, it drew 34.8 million views by the calculation above.
