25 million worldwide audience for Lord of the Rings prequel
SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 20.54 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER

Amazon has revealed The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power attracted more than 25 million global viewers on its first day of release.

It’s the first time the parcels to showbiz company has released details of viewership to any of its series or films, though it offered no comparisons with previous shows on the platform or methodology as to how it had reached the figures.

To attempt some perspective, HBO’s House of the Dragon prequel to its hit series Game of Thrones gained an audience of 10 million on its first day of release in the United States alone, a figure that doubled within seven days, according to figures released by Nielsen and HBO.

In a statement Amazon said the size of the audience had broken all previous records, marking the biggest premiere in the history of Prime Video. The series launched exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.”

This drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and is said to have cost £715 million – including payment for the rights to the Tolkien estate – making it the most expensive TV show of all time.

Episodes of the prequel to the Tolkien story will be released weekly through until October 14.