Rockstar Games recently premiered a 27-minute "extended preview" for Grand Theft Auto VI on Netflix. Despite enjoying only a 6-hour platform exclusive window, the preview quickly became Netflix's most-watched title last week and unexpectedly achieved impressive ratings on the film review platform Letterboxd.
According to data released by Netflix, the Grand Theft Auto VI extended preview accumulated 31.1 million views in just four days, from its August 27, 2026, launch to the August 30 reporting period. It also claimed the #1 spot on the English Films chart in 87 of the 93 countries and regions tracked by the platform.
Furthermore, the video debuted on Rockstar Games' official YouTube channel six hours after its Netflix premiere, and by the reporting period, its viewership had already surpassed 17 million.
However, Netflix and YouTube use different methods for calculating viewership; Netflix primarily calculates by total watch hours divided by runtime, meaning the figures from the two platforms are not directly comparable.
More interestingly, because this preview launched first on Netflix, it was listed on the film social platform Letterboxd. To date, the Grand Theft Auto VI extended preview holds an average rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, ranking 34th among 2026 releases. This places it even higher than the film Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has a 4.1 rating.
The preview has currently garnered over 32,000 reviews, with nearly 24,000 users awarding it a perfect 5-star rating. Many players specifically praised the visuals, the depiction of Vice City, and the interaction between the two protagonists, Jason and Lucia.
Of course, some users joked about a game preview being treated as a film for ratings, critiquing its "confused structure, trailer-like narrative, and animation that looks like a video game." Yet, they often added, "but the game looks super awesome," making this preview one of the year's most unconventional "high-scoring films" even before its official launch.
via： Variety Letterboxd