Netflix says a record-breaking 45 million accounts watched 'Bird Box' in its first week, but we don't know how many finished the movie

Netflix

"Bird Box"

• Netflix said over 45 million accounts watched "Bird Box" in its first week.
• That's a record for a Netflix movie, according to the streamer.
• Netflix did not specify how many of those actually finished the movie, though.

Over 45 million accounts have watched Netflix's new original thriller, "Bird Box," the best first week for a Netflix movie ever, the streaming giant said on Friday.

"Took off my blindfold this morning to discover that 45,037,125 Netflix accounts have already watched Bird Box - best first 7 days ever for a Netflix film!," Netflix tweeted.

The movie stars Sandra Bullock as a mother who's trying to protect her children after a supernatural force, which kills you if you see it, wipes out most of humanity.

READ MORE: Stephen King was 'riveted' by Netflix's new thriller, 'Bird Box,' and slammed critics for suffering from 'Netflix Prejudice'

Netflix did not specify how many users actually finished the entire movie, though. And Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for clarification from Business Insider.

Netflix has made bold statements about its original movies before. Content chief Ted Sarandos recently said that "The Christmas Chronicles" was the biggest movie of star Kurt Russell's career with 20 million views on the streaming service (he did not specify how many of those were repeat viewings).

"Bird Box" has generated buzz (and memes) online since it debuted on Netflix December 21, though critics weren't blown away by it. The movie currently has a 65% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

Stephen King praised the movie last week and said he was "absolutely riveted" by it. "Don't believe the lukewarm reviews, which may in part have been caused by reviewers' ambivalence to the streaming platform, as opposed to theatrical releases."

He added, "One might say movie reviewers suffer from the dread NP syndrome: Netflix Prejudice."