Facing El Chapo is now the number one most popular movie on Netflix worldwide, giving El Chapo Netflix a fast win after its August 21 release. The 91-minute crime thriller arrives as part of Netflix’s original crime slate and has already moved past the platform’s other titles in the worldwide movie ranking.
Directed by Chava Cartas, the film stars Alfonso Herrera, Noé Hernández, and Hector Kotsifakis. That trio gives Netflix a compact cast for a 91-minute release, and the short runtime fits the kind of quick-hit viewing that can travel fast on a global ranking system.
August 21 on Netflix
Facing El Chapo is based on real events and chronicles the recapture of Joaquín Guzmán in 2016. The film focuses on one specific period in El Chapo’s life, which keeps the story tight instead of trying to cover the full span of his history.
That structure also sets it apart from Netflix’s El Chapo, which ran for three seasons starting in 2017. The newer film does not try to replace that longer version of the story; it compresses the material into a single-period thriller built around the 2016 recapture.
Chava Cartas and Alfonso Herrera
Cartas’ version lands in the same Netflix crime lane as Man on Fire, Havoc, Rebel Ridge, The Rip, and Colors of Evil: Black, but its early ranking suggests the platform still has room for true-crime titles that are shorter and easier to sample. A number one worldwide position gives Netflix a clear signal that this specific format can still break through.
For Herrera, the lead role gives the film a recognizable face at the center of a story already tied to one of Netflix’s most familiar crime properties. That matters because the platform has now shown it can return to Guzmán’s story in a different format and still pull immediate global attention.
One period, one ranking
The sharpest question now is how long Facing El Chapo can hold that top spot after the opening burst from its August 21 debut. The film has already done the part that matters most in streaming: it got viewers to press play fast enough to reach number one worldwide.
