Korean disaster film heats up overseas

Jan 15, 2026, 07:57 am

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Kim Da-mi (right) stars in Netflix’s sci-fi disaster film The Great Flood, which has topped the platform’s non-English movie chart for four consecutive weeks. / Courtesy of Netflix

Netflix’s Korean sci-fi disaster film The Great Flood continues to draw strong overseas interest, maintaining its lead on the platform’s global non-English movie chart.

According to Netflix’s official ranking site Tudum, the film recorded 5.2 million views between Jan. 5 and 11, topping the non-English films category for a fourth consecutive week. Released on Dec. 19, the movie also ranked No. 1 in its first week with 27.9 million views, followed by 33.1 million in its second week and 11.1 million in its third.

Directed by Kim Byung-woo, known for last summer’s Omniscient Reader, The Great Flood centers on a catastrophic disaster scenario in which researcher Anna, played by Kim Da-mi, struggles to save her young son, Ja-in, portrayed by Kwon Eun-sung. The film blends disaster spectacle with a time-loop narrative, exploring themes of artificial intelligence and maternal instinct.

While the movie faced harsh criticism in South Korea, international audiences have responded more positively, highlighting a stark divide in reception between domestic and overseas viewers.

Meanwhile, Face, directed by Yeon Sang-ho and released on Jan. 5, ranked fifth in the same category with 2 million views, underscoring the continued global appetite for Korean genre films on Netflix.

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