Amazon.com, Inc AMZN Has reported Its prequel The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), The Rings of Power, has attracted more than 25 million viewers worldwide on day one, marking the largest premiere in Prime Video history.
The series is based on the appendices of JRR Tolkien‘s LOTR books. LOTR was voted the best book of the millennium by Amazon customers in 1999 and Britain’s favorite novel of all time in BBC’s The Big Read in 2003.
Speaking of the show’s success, head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke 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.”
During the show’s UK premiere, Amazon founders jeff bezos reportedly said his son warned him not to screw up the series.
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“My son came up to me one day, he looked me in the eye very sincerely and said, ‘Dad, please don’t make that up,'” Bezos said, according to Variety.
Episodes of “The Rings of Power” starts weekly until the season finale on October 14th.
Amazon earlier this year acquired for a $6.5 billion film and television studio giant Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), whose library includes classics like the James Bond and Rocky series, as well as The Pink Panther and RoboCop.
HBO also tries to up the ante with big programming.
Corresponding diversityHBO’s “House of the Dragon” attracted nearly 10 million viewers on its first day in the United States. Within the first week, that number doubled to 20 million viewers.
Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime
