The U.S. streaming landscape shifted significantly in September, with Backrooms rapidly claiming the top movie position while Lanterns surged to the head of the television rankings, according to the latest monthly data from JustWatch.
The September report tracks streaming demand among JustWatch users in the United States, covering activity across subscription-based streaming services from September 1 through September 30, 2026. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Backrooms Makes Rapid Rise to No. 1
Backrooms emerged as September’s most popular streaming movie despite arriving on HBO Max only on September 25.
Its rapid ascent gave HBO Max the month’s No. 1 movie and contributed to an especially strong showing for the platform. Practical Magic finished second, while Supergirl secured sixth place, giving HBO Max three titles among the top six movies. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Obsession Slips After Leading August
September also brought a change at the top for some of the previous month’s biggest streaming titles.
Obsession, which had occupied the No. 1 position in August, fell to third place in September and streamed through Peacock Premium. Project Hail Mary also lost ground, dropping from second in August to fifth in the latest ranking. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
The movie chart on page two shows Mayday taking fourth place for Apple TV, followed by Project Hail Mary at No. 5 and Supergirl at No. 6. Netflix’s The Whisper Man ranked seventh, Paramount Plus title Tuner came eighth, while Disney Plus occupied the final two positions with The Mandalorian and Grogu and Toy Story 5. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Lanterns Overtakes Rivals on Television Chart
Television experienced an equally notable reshuffling.
Lanterns climbed from fifth place in August to become September’s No. 1 streaming series. Reacher also gained ground, moving from fourth to second.
Those gains pushed August’s leading programs down the chart. Ted Lasso moved from second to third, while previous leader Furious dropped from first to fifth. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Reacher and Ted Lasso Complete Top Three
Prime Video’s Reacher finished immediately behind Lanterns, while Apple TV’s Ted Lasso secured third place.
Lioness, available through services including Paramount Plus, took fourth, followed by Hulu’s Furious. Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay rose from tenth the previous month to sixth, while Netflix’s The Gentlemen ranked seventh. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Slow Horses, Chad Powers and Silo completed the television top 10 at eighth, ninth and tenth respectively. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Apple TV Places Four Series in Top 10
Apple TV maintained a particularly strong presence among television series, placing four programs in the top 10 for a second consecutive month.
Those titles were Ted Lasso at No. 3, Widow’s Bay at No. 6, Slow Horses at No. 8 and Silo at No. 10. Apple TV also gained a prominent position on the movie chart through Mayday, which finished fourth. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus Secure Top 10 Spots
Other major streaming platforms maintained positions across the September rankings.
Netflix had The Whisper Man at No. 7 among movies and The Gentlemen in the same position among television series. Prime Video held second place on the series chart with Reacher and was among the services offering fifth-ranked movie Project Hail Mary.
Disney Plus, meanwhile, captured ninth and tenth place on the movie chart through The Mandalorian and Grogu and Toy Story 5. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
October Streaming Releases Prepare to Enter the Race
With September completed, the report identifies several major releases that could reshape streaming demand in October.
East of Eden and War were scheduled for October 1 releases on Netflix and HBO Max respectively, followed by Carrie on Prime Video on October 7 and Small Prophets on Apple TV on October 9. Netflix’s Lupin is scheduled to return on October 23. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
JustWatch Rankings Measure Viewer Streaming Interest
The rankings should not be interpreted as conventional audience measurements based solely on the number of minutes or hours watched.
JustWatch calculates streaming popularity from activity among its users, including interactions such as clicking streaming offers, adding movies or series to watchlists and marking titles as watched. The company says its data is collected from 50 million movie and television fans each month and covers 140 countries and approximately 4,500 streaming services. Monthly Top 10s September (US)
September’s results therefore provide a picture of what generated the strongest streaming interest among JustWatch’s U.S. users during the month, with Backrooms and Lanterns emerging as the respective movie and television leaders.
