Did Netflix Finally Crack Arabic Films—Or Just Get Lucky?
How The Sand Castle made it to Netflix Global Top 10.
Hey streamers 👋
Two weeks ago, I wrote about why making local films in MENA is still a challenge.
This week? Well, reality proved me wrong. The Sand Castle, a Lebanese/US co-production just made it into Netflix Global Top 10 non-English movies.
So, what’s the takeaway? Pure luck, or something we can actually replicate?
Today’s program
What does success look like for Netflix?
Why did the Sand Castle take off?
So what? What can we learn from this?
And… Action!
What does success look like for Netflix?
I’m sure you have all seen Netflix Top 10 rankings: the carousel that pops up when you open Netflix, showing trending movies and shows in your country.
But there’s also a more official ranking that goes beyond what you see on the homepage. Every Tuesday, Netflix releases its global Top 10 lists, broken down into four categories:
Movies (English)
Series (English)
Movies (Non-English)
Series (Non-English)
These rankings are based on ‘views’, which Netflix calculates by dividing total hours watched by a title’s runtime. They also publish country-specific Top 10 lists ranked by views.
And for a bigger picture, Netflix tracks the most popular movies and shows in their first 91 days, giving us an idea of what really sticks.
So, if we want to measure the success of a locally produced film in MENA, the best place to look is the Global Top 10 for Non-English Movies.
Let’s now focus on The Sand Castle.
Released on January 24th, The Sand Castle wasted no time: in just three days, it landed in Netflix Global Top 10 Non-English Movies for the week of January 20–26, 2025, generating over 4.8 million views.
It also cracked the Top 10 in 33 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
How Rare Is This for Arabic Films? I did a quick analysis into Netflix historical Global Top 10 Non-English rankings, which include 758 unique titles so far.
Turns out, only 5 Arabic-language films have ever made the cut:
Perfect Strangers (2022, Lebanon, Comedy)
3 weeks in the Global Top 10 Non-English movies.
Top 10 in 11 countries, including Egypt (#1), Morocco, Bahrain, Jordan (#1), Kuwait (#1), Lebanon (#1), Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (#1), and UAE.
Honeymoonish (2024, Kuweit, Comedy)
3 weeks in the Global Top 10 Non-English movies.
Top 10 in 73 countries, including in MENA: Bahrain (#1), Egypt, Jordan (#1), Kuwait (#1), Lebanon (#1), Morocco (#1), Oman (#1), Qatar (#1), Saudi Arabia (#1), United Arab Emirates (#1).
Head to Head (2023, Saudi Arabia, Comedy)
2 weeks in the Global Top 10 Non-English movies.
Top 10 in 9 countries, including Turkey, Morocco, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (#1).
Alkhallat+ (2022, Saudi Arabia, Comedy)
1 week in the Global Top 10 Non-English movies.
Top 10 in 7 countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait (#1), Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (#1), and UAE.
Reaching #2 globally for The Sand Castle is huge, now the real challenge is staying in the rankings for multiple weeks.
But here’s the weird part… Despite its global success, The Sand Castle only made it into the official Netflix Top 10 Non-English Movies (20-26 Jan 2025) in 2 MENA countries: Lebanon and Morocco. For a locally produced film, you’d expect it to dominate the charts across the region. So why didn’t it? And will that change next week?
I’ll be tracking the numbers, so make sure to follow me on LinkedIn. I’ll be sharing the latest rankings tomorrow and in the coming weeks.
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[UPDATE & CLARIFICATION]
After more investigation using an external data provider (FlixPatrol), I found that The Sand Castle did make it into the daily Top 10 in some MENA countries.
I assume it didn’t appear on Netflix official Top 10 Non-English Movies for the week of January 20–26, 2025, because other titles accumulated more views over the full week.
This chart summarizes The Sand Castle position in Netflix Top 10 Movies across MENA countries from January 25 to February 3.
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Why did the Sand Castle take off?
Looking at both international and local reviews, most agree on a few key points:
Visually stunning – The Sand Castle has gorgeous cinematography and a dreamlike feel
Told through a child’s eyes – The story unfolds through Jana’s imagination, which adds emotional depth
Great cast, limited screen time – Riman Al Rafeea, Nadine Labaki, and Zain Al Rafeea give strong performances, but the film’s minimal dialogue and restrained approach don’t fully explore their characters.
Themes of survival, displacement & lost innocence – The film explores powerful themes like war, trauma, and resilience, but its abstract storytelling prevents it from fully developing them.
The movie itself isn’t the only reason for its success. Its distribution strategy played a huge role.
This is Netflix second time working with Front Row Filmed Entertainment, one of the Middle-East's leading independent film distributor. The first was Perfect Strangers, which was already a huge success, staying in Netflix Global Top 10 Non-English Movies for three weeks in 2022.
Unlike Perfect Strangers, which was only available in Arabic (Lebanon) with Arabic subtitles, The Sand Castle was given a much wider release:
Available in Arabic (original) + dubbed in 5 languages: English, French, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Latin America).
Subtitled in 32 languages, including English, Arabic, French, Chinese, Filipino, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.
The Marketing part is a bit of a mystery.
Netflix MENA Instagram account has promoted the film multiple times, but it’s nowhere to be seen on Netflix main US or LATAM accounts.
So far, there haven’t been any major billboards or ad campaigns. If anyone spots one, let me know!
One key moment? The film premiered at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, which helped build buzz in the region.
Netflix distribution strategy, localization, and partnership with Front Row Filmed Entertainment clearly helped The Sand Castle reach a global audience. Now the question is: how long can it stay on top?
What can we learn from this?
Two weeks ago, I co-wrote an article about the challenges of making films in MENA. If you missed that discussion, you can check it out below.
What’s interesting is that The Sand Castle managed to overcome some of those challenges:
The perception challenge
The film shares a strong signal that regional storytelling is gaining more recognition on an international stage.
With the right backing, it wasn’t seen as just another commercial film. Instead, it positioned itself as an artistic piece, which helped it stand out.
Censorship and content restrictions
Despite tackling sensitive themes like displacement and war trauma, the film avoids direct political or social commentary.
By telling the story through a child’s perspective, it also keeps the focus on emotion rather than politics, making it more accessible for regional audiences and distribution.
Limited funding and investment
With a minimalist setting (an isolated island) and a small cast, The Sand Castle proves that you don’t need a massive budget to create something impactful.
It also used regional film festivals like Red Sea to gain visibility, showing that MENA films can find funding and global reach when positioned well.
Skilled workforce & infrastructure limitations
Despite MENA inconsistent film infrastructure, the movie delivered high production value, strong cinematography, and a clear creative vision.
The involvement of Nadine Labaki and Ziad Bakri also added credibility, showing that regional films can maintain a high level of professionalism.
Distribution barriers & audience reception
Instead of relying on cinema screens in MENA, The Sand Castle went straight to Netflix, instantly reaching a global audience.
It’s a reminder that streaming platforms are key for regional stories, especially those that wouldn’t get wide theatrical distribution.
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So, did Netflix finally crack Arabic films, or did they just get lucky? I would say they set themselves up for success, and choosing the right partner played a big role.
The Sand Castle is already a big win for MENA filmmaking, proving that local, artistic films, not just comedies, can make it to global platforms.
But the real question is: Can this happen again? And what needs to change for more MENA films to get this kind of global reach?
That’s all for today, did Netflix finally crack Arabic films or just get lucky? If you found this breakdown valuable, spread the word and share it with your network!
I hope everyone has a great week, see you online next Monday. In the meantime, enjoy… The Sand Castle on Netflix ;) A family lost at sea tried to stay alive in an environment that seems hellbent on ending their existence.
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