'House of the Dragon' Ratings Boost as 'Rings of Power' Nears

HBO drama series "House of the Dragon" drew roughly 10 million viewers in its debut, a firm marker in the so-called "streaming wars" ahead of the release of another fantasy epic, Amazon Prime's "Lord of the Rings" prequel HOLLIE ADAMS AFP/File
HBO drama series "House of the Dragon" drew roughly 10 million viewers in its debut, a firm marker in the so-called "streaming wars" ahead of the release of another fantasy epic, Amazon Prime's "Lord of the Rings" prequel HOLLIE ADAMS AFP/File
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'House of the Dragon' Ratings Boost as 'Rings of Power' Nears

HBO drama series "House of the Dragon" drew roughly 10 million viewers in its debut, a firm marker in the so-called "streaming wars" ahead of the release of another fantasy epic, Amazon Prime's "Lord of the Rings" prequel HOLLIE ADAMS AFP/File
HBO drama series "House of the Dragon" drew roughly 10 million viewers in its debut, a firm marker in the so-called "streaming wars" ahead of the release of another fantasy epic, Amazon Prime's "Lord of the Rings" prequel HOLLIE ADAMS AFP/File

As "House of the Dragon" debuted to nearly 10 million US viewers this weekend, HBO appears to have claimed first blood in its much-hyped TV fantasy epic showdown with Amazon's upcoming "Lord of the Rings" prequel.

Set in the same Medieval-inspired Westeros world as smash hit "Game of Thrones," "House of the Dragon," which launched Sunday, is a crucially important series for the premium cable network and its streaming platform HBO Max, AFP said.

HBO is banking on its prequel matching the wild popularity of the original "Thrones," which over eight seasons became appointment viewing, spawned countless imitations and delivered 59 Emmys -- a record for a drama at television's equivalent of the Oscars.

A press release on Monday hailed 9.986 million viewers as "the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO" -- although some analysts noted that "new original" might be pushing a definition for a spin-off, and that its parent title drew a whopping 17.4 million to the debut of its final season.

Still, the figure represents a success for newly merged Warner Bros Discovery, which is under intense scrutiny as it tries to navigate its place in a rapidly changing entertainment landscape dominated by the so-called "streaming wars."

On September 2, fierce competition will arrive in the form of "The Rings of Power," another swords-and-dragons-themed epic of the small screen, this time taking place in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, and created by retail giant Amazon's own streaming platform Prime Video.

Said to be a passion project for Amazon's uber-wealthy founder Jeff Bezos, "The Rings of Power" has been commissioned for five seasons, and has been dubbed the most expensive show ever made.

Its overall budget of around $1 billion dwarfs the $150 million spent so far on "House of the Dragon," though HBO has several other glossy Westeros-set prequels, sequels and spin-offs in the works.

'Great fantasy'
Creatives and executives on each side have been careful to play down talk of a rivalry.

And in reality, comparisons between the shows may be harder to draw than in TV ratings battles of the past.

HBO's return to Westeros, and its predecessor show's addictive blend of scheming dynasties, gory violence and arguably gratuitous sex, has drawn generally warm praise from critics, though reviews for Amazon's show remain under strict embargo.

While HBO has been happy to celebrate its strong early ratings figures, Amazon is under no obligation to publish viewing statistics.

Indeed, many in the more "traditional" side of Hollywood have noted that Prime Video -- which produces both television and film -- may not be especially interested in the same metrics as its apparent rivals.

Earlier this year, the head of the movie theater industry's trade body told AFP his group was "very concerned" about Amazon Prime, noting that the subscription service's business model was not "trying to make money" off its movies and shows, but instead getting consumers to "buy their groceries and use their shipping services."

Still, fantasy fans including George R.R. Martin -- author of the books on which both "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" are based on -- have expressed hope that both can be a success.

"I want both shows to find an appreciative audience, and give them great television. Great fantasy," Martin wrote in a recent blog post.

"The more fantasy hits we have, the more great fantasy we are likely to get."



Film Academy Apologizes for Not Naming ‘No Other Land’ Co-director in Response to Attack on Him

Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
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Film Academy Apologizes for Not Naming ‘No Other Land’ Co-director in Response to Attack on Him

Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)

After mounting criticism following its initial response to the violent attack on Oscar-winning "No Other Land" co-director Hamdan Ballal, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences apologized Friday for not acknowledging Ballal by name.

In a letter to academy members, academy CEO Bill Kramer and its president, Janet Yang, said they regretted not issuing a direct statement on Ballal. The director on Monday, witnesses said, was beaten by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and then detained by the Israeli military.

The attack, just weeks after Ballal and his fellow directors won best documentary at the Academy Awards, was widely condemned by numerous film organizations, among others. The academy on Wednesday released a statement condemning "harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints."

Yuval Abraham, a journalist and co-director of "No Other Land," was highly critical of that response, comparing it to "silence on Hamdan's assault."

On Friday, more than 600 of the academy's 11,000 members issued an open letter saying the academy's statement "fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for." Among the signatories were Joaquin Phoenix, Olivia Colman, Riz Ahmed, Emma Thompson, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and "The Zone of Interest" filmmaker Jonathan Glazer.

After a meeting Friday by the academy's board of governors, Kramer and Yang responded with a new statement.

"We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world," they wrote to members. "We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances."

After being detained for more than 20 hours, Ballal was released by Israeli soldiers. Ballal and two other Palestinians were accused of throwing stones at a settler, allegations they deny. After being released, Ballal told The Associated Press a settler kicked his head "like a football" during an attack on his village.

"I realized they were attacking me specifically," Ballal said at a West Bank hospital after his release Tuesday. "When they say ‘Oscar’, you understand. When they say your name, you understand."

"No Other Land," a joint Israeli-Palestinian production, chronicles the situation in Masafer Yatta, which the Israeli military designated as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered the expulsion of the residents, mostly Arab Bedouin. Around 1,000 residents have largely remained in place, but soldiers regularly come in to demolish homes, tents, water tanks and olive orchards.

After not finding a US distributor despite wide acclaim, "No Other Land" was self-released in theaters. It still managed to surpass $2 million in North American theaters.