Troll 2 on Netflix has reached the top of the platform’s non-English film chart, reigning in 59 countries just days after its global release and confirming the strong international appeal of Norwegian genre cinema.
Norwegian sequel leads Netflix’s non-English rankings
According to viewing data released by Netflix, the Norwegian fantasy sequel Troll 2 currently sits at number one on the global Top 10 list for non-English films, with around 29.3 million views in a single week. At the same time, the original Troll from 2022 has climbed back to second place on the same list, with 5.3 million weekly views, underscoring how the new release is driving audiences back to the first film.
Norwegian broadcaster reports indicate that Troll 2 has been the most-watched non-English film on Netflix in 59 countries, including Argentina, South Africa, Thailand, France and Norway. The film’s performance places it alongside some of the strongest recent streaming debuts from Europe and underlines how monster stories rooted in local folklore can travel well beyond their home markets.
Director Roar Uthaug, who also directed the first Troll film, said in a statement that it has been “fantastic” to watch how the movie has spread across the world and how viewers have engaged with the trolls and the expanded universe. The result confirms Netflix’s strategy of investing in locally produced genre titles that can perform as global streaming brands.
Troll 2 Netflix success builds on a record-breaking first film
The strong launch of Troll 2 builds directly on the momentum of the first Troll film, which became one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English titles after its release in December 2022. The original movie, which followed a small team racing to stop a gigantic troll awakened in the Norwegian mountains, showed that a locally grounded story in Norwegian could achieve mainstream visibility on a global platform.
That early success encouraged Netflix and Norwegian producers Motion Blur to develop a sequel with a larger scale while keeping the focus on Norwegian mythology and settings. With Troll 2 on Netflix now leading the non-English film rankings and pushing the original title back up the chart, the two films together illustrate how a streaming franchise can emerge from a single local production.
The renewed interest in the first film also strengthens the position of Norwegian cinema within the broader ecosystem of European productions on global platforms. For other Nordic creators, Troll’s trajectory offers a concrete example of how genre films can act as a gateway for international audiences to discover stories, landscapes and languages from the region.
From Vemork to Jotunheimen: Norway’s landscapes as a co-star
In Troll 2, the story once again uses Norway’s geography as a central narrative element. The film opens inside the mountain near the historic Vemork hydroelectric plant, moves through the city of Trondheim and into Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen), before continuing to ski resort areas such as Hemsedal and the mountain range of Jotunheimen.
These locations give Troll 2 on Netflix a distinct visual identity compared to many other global monster movies. The combination of rugged mountains, narrow valleys and historic landmarks is used not only for spectacle but also to root the story in specific Norwegian places that international viewers may not know by name but can recognise visually.
The production once again relies on extensive visual effects to bring the trolls to life, but the design choices are grounded in traditional Norwegian folklore. This blend of modern VFX, familiar genre conventions and local mythological references has become one of the franchise’s signatures and a key factor in its global visibility.
What this streaming triumph means for Nordic film
The rapid ascent of Troll 2 on Netflix offers a useful case study for Nordic cinema and European producers more broadly. The film’s performance demonstrates that non-English genre titles can secure prominent positions on global streaming platforms when they combine recognizable storytelling with a strong local identity.
For Norway and the wider Nordic region, the success of the Troll franchise strengthens cultural visibility at a time when international competition for viewers is intense. High-profile projects like this one can open doors for other Norwegian and Nordic productions, from drama series to documentaries, by showing platforms and audiences that there is sustained interest in stories from the region.
The continued popularity of both Troll 2 and the original Troll suggests that the franchise could have a future beyond its current instalments, whether through further sequels, spin-offs or related genre projects. For now, the films underline how a locally anchored monster story can become a global streaming phenomenon — and how Norway’s trolls have turned into some of the most recognisable figures in contemporary Nordic pop culture.
