The Secret Woman, the new Danish thriller released by Netflix, has become the most-watched non-English-language film on the platform worldwide. The film recorded 19.3 million views between 31 August and 6 September, according to Netflix’s latest global Top 10 ranking, and entered the Top 10 in 88 countries.
The film, whose Danish title is Den hemmelige kvinde, premiered globally on Netflix on 28 August. Its international success has come despite a largely negative reception from Danish film critics.
The Secret Woman reaches Netflix’s global number one
In its second week on the platform, The Secret Woman climbed to first place in Netflix’s global ranking for non-English-language films.
Netflix recorded 19.3 million views and 38.3 million hours watched during the week from 31 August to 6 September. The second-placed film, Facing El Chapo, recorded 7.1 million views over the same period.
According to DR, the Danish production also reached the Top 10 in 88 countries, including markets as geographically distant as El Salvador, Nigeria, Ukraine and Bangladesh.
The performance gives the Danish-language production an audience extending well beyond Scandinavia and Europe, continuing Netflix’s investment in locally produced films intended for international distribution.
A Danish thriller set between Norway and Denmark
The film is based on the 2016 crime novel of the same name by Anna Ekberg, the pseudonym used by Danish writers Anders Rønnow Klarlund and Jacob Weinreich.
The story follows Louise Andersen, played by Natalie Madueño, who lives on the Norwegian island of Hidra with her partner Joachim, played by Norwegian actor Pål Sverre Hagen. Louise has amnesia and knows little about her previous life.
Her situation changes when a stranger tells her that she is actually Helene Söderberg, a Danish woman who disappeared three years earlier. She then discovers that she has a husband, a son and links to a wealthy family business in Denmark.
The cast also includes Danish actor Claes Bang, alongside Stina Ekblad, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Lars Simonsen. Netflix describes the film as a psychological Nordic noir combining mystery, crime and thriller elements.
From the director of Loving Adults
Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg directed the film and co-wrote its screenplay with Anders August. She previously directed the Danish Netflix thriller Kærlighed for voksne, released internationally as Loving Adults, in 2022.
Netflix announced the project in June, presenting it as another Danish production designed for a global audience and scheduling its simultaneous international release for 28 August.
The platform’s own page for the film lists Danish as its original language and categorises it as a thriller, mystery and drama based on a book.
The Netflix success contrasts with Danish reviews
The large international audience contrasts sharply with the film’s reception among several Danish critics.
Politiken and Jyllands-Posten both gave the thriller two out of six, according to Ritzau and DR. Danish cultural magazine Soundvenue awarded it three out of six stars, criticising what it considered caricatured characters and excessive use of ominous dramatic devices.
Soundvenue nevertheless highlighted Madueño’s performance and some of the film’s themes, including trafficking and violence against women.
The gap between those reviews and the viewing figures illustrates how critical reception and international streaming performance can diverge significantly. For The Secret Woman, the first two weeks on Netflix have already turned a Danish psychological thriller into one of the platform’s most widely watched Nordic releases of the moment.
