Nielsen has released its look at the most streamed TV shows and movies for 2025. They’ve even turned their report into awards of sorts, the “Artey Awards.” Nielsen also has awarded its inaugural “Streaming Icon of the Year” award, with the winner being Seth MacFarlane, the person behind “Family Guy” and “American Dad.”
Overall, Nielsen has said streaming increased by 19% (in terms of minutes) over 2024. The most binged title of 2025 is, oddly, the old Western “Gunsmoke.” The Western ran from 1955 to 1975 (and on radio from 1952 to 1961) as the longest-running scripted US primetime program until “The Simpsons” eclipsed it.
Below is a look at how animation fares in each of Nielsen’s categories. The rank on each list is in parentheses.
Overall top animated TV shows of 2025
- Bluey, Disney+, 45.2 billion minutes viewed (#1)
- SpongeBob SquarePants, Paramount+, 34.35 billion minutes viewed (#5)
- Bob’s Burgers, Hulu, 34.08 billion minutes viewed (#6)
- Family Guy, Hulu, 33.37 billion minutes viewed (#7)
Like last year, “Bluey” is the most streamed TV show hands down; kids (and adults) really like the Australian talking dogs.
Also like last year, Disney+/Hulu did well, thanks to the Fox primetime shows that aren’t “The Simpsons,” which isn’t a top 10 entry. While not mentioned by Nielsen in this year’s report, last year, “The Simpsons” came in in the top 30 overall list.
“SpongeBob” also continues to be Paramount+’s second most popular TV program (after “NCIS,” which is on multiple platforms). There’s a reason SpongeBob feels like a main selling point for Paramount+, along with “Star Trek,” “South Park,” Taylor Sheridan’s shows, and CBS cop shows.
Top original animated series of 2025
- Gabby’s Dollhouse, Netflix/Prime Video, 11.99 billion minutes viewed (#10)
I thought I’d count preschooler show “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” even though it’s a mix of live action and animation (by some of the people behind “Blue’s Clues”).
Top acquired animated series of 2025
- Bluey, Disney+, 45.2 billion minutes viewed (#1)
- SpongeBob SquarePants, Paramount+, 34.35 billion minutes viewed (#4)
- Bob’s Burgers, Hulu, 34.08 billion minutes viewed (#5)
- Family Guy, Hulu, 33.37 billion minutes viewed (#6)
You’re not seeing things; this list is pretty much nearly identical to the overall top 10 list. However, that one had “Stranger Things” (at #3, behind “Bluey” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) bumping things slightly.
Top animated (kids) movies of 2025
- KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix, 20.55 billion minutes viewed (#1)
- Moana 2, Disney+, 9.43 billion minutes viewed (#2)
- Despicable Me 4, Netflix/Peacock, 8.7 billion minutes viewed (#3)
- Moana, Disney+, 5.81 billion minutes viewed (#4)
- Frozen, Disney+, 5.53 billion minutes viewed (#5)
- Cars, Disney+, 5.16 billion minutes viewed (#6)
- The Wild Robot, Netflix/Peacock, 5.06 billion minutes viewed (#7)
- Zootopia, Disney+, 4.81 billion minutes viewed (#8)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Peacock/Prime Video, 4.43 billion minutes viewed (#10)
This year, Nielsen split out movies into two categories, “kids movies” and “general interest movies.” Presumably this was to avoid a movies list with nothing but family cartoons, as the above animated films are also the most-watched films period. Half of the “general interest” list consists of Adam Sandler movies (“Happy Gilmore 2” is at #1), “Harry Potter,” “Kraven the Hunter,” and “Madea” films, which says a lot about the general public’s tastes.
To no one’s surprise, “KPop Demon Hunters” is the #1 film on the list, and thus also the most-streamed movie in 2025. Disney films make up half of the list; again, this and “Bluey” are major reasons why Disney+ is popular, despite grumbling by adult viewers about the state of Marvel/”Star Wars.”
DreamWorks and Illumination also remain liked, with “Despicable Me 4,” “The Wild Robot,” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” appearing. Netflix and Prime Video are the likely main viewing spots for these more than the less-popular Peacock.
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
