The Top 25 Report
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Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (December 22 to 28, 2019)
editPrepared with commentary by Igordebraga
← Last week's report | Next week's report →
- If you only knew the power of the Netflix side
The last report made in 2019, like the first, is dominated by Netflix, with one production on top - the book/video game adaptation The Witcher, which even brought in the whole franchise (#4) and the two main actors (#6, #9) - and many others present through either subject or project, including another season of You (#15, #25), which was also here in January (another amusing coincidence is a second English monarch played by Olivia Colman at #21). It is even enough to push down to second place the latest Star Wars, as it has not been a runaway hit or The Force Awakens or igniting fiery arguments like The Last Jedi - which is in fact one of the five related entries The Rise of Skywalker got to the list - though the franchise's own streaming hit got a boost thanks to its season finale (#3). For things not in a galaxy far, far away or a streaming service very, very widespread, there's the holiday season (#7, #19), during which a new movie appeared seemingly out of a litterbox (#8); India has a new movie (#11) and an addition (#14) to the stalwart that is the death list (#10); SNL welcomed back one of its alumni (#13), and the year's breakout music star (#24) completes the 25.
For the week of December 22 to 28, 2019, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 are:
Rank Article Class Views Image About 1 The Witcher (TV series) 
2,980,641 
Geralt of Rivia had already been adapted in some acclaimed video games (plus a movie and show in his home country), and now the monster slayer for hire got a live action series on Netflix, where he is portrayed by Henry Cavill. 2 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 
2,435,056 
Episode IX of Star Wars brought me back to the same conclusion I had when it was announced that a new trilogy would be made: why, given the original six movies had a clear hero's journey, namely the rise, fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker? Sure, The Rise of Skywalker is entertaining and far from the downer that was The Last Jedi. But being so full of retreads and weird developments (an example for both is the sheer fact that Emperor Palpatine is brought back without much explanation), along with making the happy ending of Return of Jedi ultimately overriden (the old "sequels" at least had the Skywalker family thriving amid all the problems that emerged instead of just failing) makes for a not as satisfying conclusion. Reviewers have had similar mixed responses, while audiences ensured the movie made $700 million in just 2 weeks. 3 The Mandalorian
1,353,148 
And now for a better Star Wars project, a "Space Western" show following an armored bounty hunter (and an adorable alien) that certainly was a factor in many Disney+ subscriptions. The Mandalorian finished its first season and is confirmed to return in 2020. 4 The Witcher
1,293,480 
Poland is to thank for both this book series (by author Andrzej Sapkowski, pictured) and the video games that brought it to worldwide attention (by developer CD Projekt Red), ultimately leading to the Netflix adaptation that leads this week's list. 5 Luka Magnotta
1,185,486 
A much more despicable person on Netflix than the protagonist of The Witcher, namely a Canadian maniac who first uploaded videos of himself killing kittens (which is why the documentary miniseries on him is called Don’t F**k With Cats) before the crime that sent him to jail, the slaughter and dismemberment of an exchange student. 6 Anya Chalotra 
1,148,484 
Geralt's mage "soulmate" Yennefer is portrayed in our #1 by this British actress of Indian descent. 7 Boxing Day
969,254 
The day after Christmas, known in the UK and some former colonies for its shopping sprees and sporting events - though not boxing fights. 8 Cats (2019 film)
964,794 
Based on a hit Broadway show inspired by T.S. Eliot's poetry, the film featured a star-studded cast - including another T.S. - and a visual approach that led to two reactions: "Cats looks terrible! No way I'm watching this!" or "Cats looks terrible! Can't wait to watch this!" Needless to say, critics ravaged the movie and given it opened on Christmas weekend opposite our #2, Cats has barely scratched the box office, and misery will probably ensue in the studio. 9 Henry Cavill
916,657 
The British star of #1, closing off a decade that had him playing Superman, a Russian spy and an American double agent. 10 Deaths in 2019 
774,662 
Like 2016, the yearly deceased list missed one of the Top 25 Reports (amusingly, both times an election was to blame) and the top spot in the annual list - beaten first by an orange guy and then a purple one. 11 Dabangg 3
768,071 
Bollywood provides us with an action sequel (which apparently also serves as a prequel), directed by... Prabhu Deva? Great, an excuse to post this! 12 List of Star Wars films
726,602 
George Lucas originally thought of nine or twelve films. The original trilogy was such a mess to make he eventually decided Return of the Jedi would close the story, only returning to tell the origin story with the prequel trilogy. Then Disney purchased Lucasfilm specifically to make an extra trilogy, introducing Daisy Ridley's (pictured) Rey, as well as some side stories - and while Rogue One was worth it, the underwhelming performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story showed milking Star Wars every year is not so feasible. And this article also lists some other productions fans would rather forget. 13 Eddie Murphy
675,350 
One of the biggest breakout stars out of Saturday Night Live returned to host the show, and even revived an old feud with Bill Cosby in his opening monologue (“If you would have told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring, stay-at-home house dad and Bill Cosby would be in jail, even I would have took that bet.”). 14 Kushal Punjabi
618,005 
India pushes in another entry, though one of grief, as this actor hung himself at the age of 42. 15 You (season 2)
607,670 
Penn Badgley is back as serial killer Joe Goldberg in the adaptation of sequel novel Hidden Bodies, which has just been released on Netflix. 16 Adam Driver
590,673 
Kylo Ren in our #2, who is also expected to be an awards contender for Marriage Story. 17 Jimmy Hoffa
575,136 
Disclaimer: this here writer has started but not yet finished The Irishman, given life is short but a three-and-a-half hour movie is endless. But the Netflix release itself claims the disappeared labour union leader played by Al Pacino was at a certain point as famous as Elvis and\or the president, so no wonder he gets more views than the movie and more proeminent main characters Frank Sheeran and Russell Bufalino. 18 Star Wars
568,323 
In 1973, 20th Century Fox decided to take a risk in George Lucas' idea for "a little strange" film. It had a low budget that still ballooned, a troubled production and just about everyone involved either didn't care or didn't believe the project. And yet upon release in 1977 that movie became the biggest hit of all time and started a franchise that still runs strong today, even if its fans like to complain like it's nobody's business. 19 Christmas and holiday season 
566,114 
The more general article got more views than the Christian holiday itself (#35)? Hope the lunatics who claim there is a "War on Christmas" don't see this! 20 Pope Benedict XVI
557,114 
After beloved Pope John Paul II died in 2005, the Conclave picked as his successor German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. This story is told in the Netflix release The Two Popes, with His Holiness portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. (continued below) 21 Elizabeth II 
542,254 
Her Majesty is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a title created so her kingdom doesn't have to serve the Pope. So no wonder the subject of The Crown is the spoilsport that splits the two subjects of The Two Popes. 22 Pope Francis
535,852 After Pope Benedict XVI decided he was too old and frail to remain as Pontiff in 2013, the Conclave picked as his successor Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. This story is told in the Netflix release The Two Popes (adequate to the expression "God is Brazilian", the director, Fernando Meirelles, is from Francis' neighbor country), with His Holiness portrayed by Jonathan Pryce. 23 Star Wars: The Last Jedi
524,456 
Two things helped our #2 not be as good or successful as expected: Carrie Fisher's untimely death, preventing a big role for Leia Organa; and this divisive predecessor, that made heaps of cash but sharply divided fans with its dour and grim tone and questionable narrative choices (and also showed the fanbase has some sad misogynists). Many things in The Rise of Skywalker seem like decisions made to appease haters of The Last Jedi - most damningly, reducing a role that lead to unwarranted harrassment to barely a cameo. 24 Billie Eilish
504,667 
As noted by one of our Wikimedia friends, this young singer-songwriter is the odd one out in the top ten most viewed articles of the year (which aside of the inescapable list at #10, is all about movies and TV). Just another highlight of a 2019 that made Billboard choose her as Woman of the Year. 25 You (TV series)
500,371 
The thriller show adapting novels by Caroline Kepnes that started on Lifetime, but has since been picked up by Netflix (as shown by the season at #15).
Exclusions
edit- This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.