Google has released some data on the most-downloaded things from its app and content store, in celebration of the Play Store’s fifth birthday. Although I’d like to say that it’s an interesting peek behind the curtain, the truth is the most-downloaded apps are 100% what you’d expect.
The most-downloaded movie, on the other hand, is something that I’d honestly forgotten existed.
Of the top five apps, three are made by Facebook, which says something about how maybe the internet isn’t a magical place where the little guy always succeeds. Facebook, Facebook Messenger and Instagram are all in there; Snapchat comes in fifth place, and somehow Pandora came in third.
Candy Crush is the most-downloaded game because once again, we’re a bunch of predictable losers. Clash of Clans, Temple Run 2 and Subway Surfer are also in there, so I’m starting to think that there’s a set formula for making a winning mobile game.
Things get way more interesting when we look at movies, though. Top spot goes to The Interview, the Seth Rogan/James Franco buddy assassination movie that was pulled from movie theaters following a hack of Sony, the company that produced the movie, and threats from North Korea. The movie itself was mostly dire, but presumably pulled down good digital numbers since it was released as a digital download before ever going to movie theaters.
The full list of top-selling items is below:
Top installed games
Top installed apps
(doesn’t include preinstalled apps on Android devices)
Top-selling songs
- Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
- Lorde – “Royals”
- Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
- Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
- Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Top-selling albums
- Adele – “25”
- Eminem – “The Marshall Mathers LP2 (Deluxe)”
- Taylor Swift – “1989”
- Drake – “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”
- Kendrick Lamar – “To Pimp A Butterfly”
Top-selling movies
Top-selling books
- “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E L James
- “The Hunger Games trilogy,” by Suzanne Collins
- “A Game of Thrones,” by George RR Martin
- “The Fault in Our Stars,” by John Green
- “Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn
