A fantastic start to an epic journey.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s two-episode premiere drew 25 million global viewers in 24 hours, making it the biggest Prime Video premiere in history.
In a press release, Amazon stated that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power broke all previous records after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.”
25 million global viewers in the first 24 hours. Thank you for making #TheRingsOfPower the most watched series premiere on @PrimeVideo. pic.twitter.com/HeKCVNn5hx
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) September 3, 2022
“It is fitting that Tolkien’s stories, which are among the most popular of all time and are widely regarded as the true origins of the fantasy genre, have led us to this proud moment.” “Amazon Studios CEO Jennifer Salke stated. “I am incredibly grateful to the Tolkien Estate, as well as our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, and the entire cast and crew, for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy. And the tens of millions of viewers who are clearly as invested in Middle-earth as we are are our true measure of success.”
While we don’t know how many of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s 25 million viewers actually watched because that doesn’t mean they sat through the entire two-episode premiere, it’s still a good sign for the series, which has a reported $465 million budget for its first season.
Again, it’s difficult to compare rings to dragons because we don’t have all the details, but The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power had a slightly higher viewership than the premiere of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which was also the largest in HBO history.
We said in our review of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s first two episodes that it “may take a little while to hit its stride, but once it does, it immerses us in a gorgeous fantasy world with a great ensemble and several intriguing subplots.”
For more, read our interview with the series’ producers about making the series accessible and the crucial role Galadriel plays alongside every major character introduced in the premiere.
