Number 24 · reception & legacy

How Number 24 has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

A homegrown blockbuster in Norway — the country's biggest domestic hit of 2024 — that most of the world only discovered when it hit Netflix on New Year's Day 2025 and promptly became the platform's most-watched non-English film globally in its debut week.

What's debated

The recurring debate is the modern-day framing device — elderly Sønsteby taking questions from schoolkids — which some viewers find the film's moral spine and others find an unnecessary drag on an otherwise gripping resistance thriller.

Its footprint

It became the poster child for the Netflix-era 'random Norwegian film everyone was suddenly telling you to watch' phenomenon, pulling nearly 9 million views in its first week and topping the global non-English chart.

Where it stands

A word-of-mouth Netflix sleeper and quiet Letterboxd favourite — the WWII resistance film cinephiles recommend when someone says they're tired of Hollywood war movies.