The Netflix original, Bird Box, premiered on Dec. 21 and has amassed enormous attention. In the first week of the film’s debut, Bird Box saw over 45 million member accounts press “Play.”

The film follows Malorie, portrayed by Sandra Bullock, as she and her two children attempt to escape an entity which has been wreaking havoc across the world. To escape the entity, which preys on its victims by showing them their worst fears, Malorie and her children, Girl and Boy, travel blindfolded. But the film’s popularity may have arisen from an unusual source.

Bird Box memes instantly blew up online as fans took to mocking the blindfolded Bullock. Memes ranging in content flooded Twitter— many viewers wanted to watch Bird Box because of the internet memes, not the fast-paced trailer.

Senior Gabby Harmoning explained that she never would have watched the film if she hadn’t heard about the memes on Twitter.

“I had seen the trailer for Bird Box on Netflix but decided to watch the movie once I saw the memes of Malorie rowing down the river with a blindfold on,” Harmoning said.

The memes, while funny to people who have seen the trailer, make much more sense after watching the film.

“I had seen all the memes and thought they were really funny, which is why I went on the watch the movie, but they made so much more sense after I had seen it. And some of them are really funny,” sophomore Olivia Lagos said.

While it is unknown if Bird Box would have gotten as popular as it has without the internet memes, the memes publicity for the Netflix original is undeniable.