عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

‘Lord of the Rings’ Prequel Is Amazon Prime Video’s Biggest Premiere

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in London on August 30, 2022 Niklas HALLE'N AFP
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in London on August 30, 2022 Niklas HALLE'N AFP
TT
20
TT

‘Lord of the Rings’ Prequel Is Amazon Prime Video’s Biggest Premiere

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in London on August 30, 2022 Niklas HALLE'N AFP
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in London on August 30, 2022 Niklas HALLE'N AFP

Amazon announced Saturday that its big budget series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, had marked the biggest premiere in the history of Prime Video -- with 25 million viewers.

With this flagship production that started streaming Friday, Prime Video aims to counter the lure of HBO and its prequel to the hit series "Game of Thrones", "House of the Dragon", which began airing on August 21.

HBO also has said it had its best premiere, with its prequel, with nearly 10 million viewers in the United States alone, AFP reported.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power attracted more than 25 million global viewers on its first day, breaking all previous records, marking the biggest premiere in the history of Prime Video," a company statement said. It has aired the first two episodes.

"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," said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios.

The series, which will air until October 14, is crucial for Amazon, which wants to play in the ultra-competitive streaming landscape, where Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max are already battling it out.

"The Rings of Power" is set during Tolkien's Second Age in Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings", Tolkien's cult trilogy which has already been adapted for film.

Amazon paid $250 million to buy the rights, and some $465 million was spent on the first season alone. The group having committed to five seasons, the final sum should top one billion dollars by far.

Most Viewed

 
Entertainment

Tom Cruise, Superman and 'Avatar' Hold Keys to 2025 Box Office

FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Ceremonies - Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. Actor Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Ceremonies - Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. Actor Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
TT
20
TT

Tom Cruise, Superman and 'Avatar' Hold Keys to 2025 Box Office

FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Ceremonies - Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. Actor Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Ceremonies - Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. Actor Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

Tom Cruise takes on what may be his final "Mission: Impossible," a new Superman will wear the red cape, and the record-setting "Avatar" sci-fi series will return to movie theaters this year.
Those films and more are giving cinema operators hope that the long recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will continue in 2025. Five years after the start of the health crisis, moviegoing has not fully rebounded.
Box office receipts totaled $8.6 billion last year in the United States and Canada, 25% below the pre-pandemic heights of $11.4 billion in 2019, Reuters reported.
The film industry was disrupted again in 2023 when Hollywood writers and actors went on strike.
"That complex matrix of filmmaking, where everyone wants the best talent and the best actors and the best sets, it takes a long time to get that running again," said Tim Richards, founder and CEO of Europe's Vue Cinemas. "2025 is going to feel the tail end of that."
Top names in the movie business will gather at the annual CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas early next month to talk about the state of the industry.
The conference draws executives from Hollywood studios and multiplex operators such as AMC Entertainment, Cinemark and Cineworld as well as owners of single theaters in small towns.
At the Academy Awards this month, "Anora" filmmaker and best director winner Sean Baker delivered a "battle cry" for filmmakers, distributors and audiences to support theaters.
"The theater-going experience is under threat," he said, noting that the number of screens shrunk during the pandemic.
"If we don't reverse this trend, we'll be losing a vital part of our culture," Baker added.
Shawn Robbins, Director of Movie Analytics at Fandango and founder and owner of Box Office Theory, said the movie business was adjusting to "a new normal."
"Event movies are increasingly drivers of the business," Robbins said. "There's even more weight on their shoulders in terms of box office dollars."
Moviegoers still turn out for big-budget films, Robbins said, but have shown they are happy to wait to watch others at home.
"It is very common knowledge that a lot of movies will be available to stream within three to eight weeks, whereas it used to be a minimum of three months," he said.
'AVATAR' AS TIPPING POINT?
Among the big hitters coming to theaters this year are "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," a movie that may be Cruise's last appearance in the long-running action franchise. "One last time," he says in the trailer. The film will debut over the US Memorial Day weekend in May, along with Walt Disney's live-action version of animated classic "Lilo & Stitch."
Brad Pitt plays a Formula 1 driver in the June release "F1," and in July, Warner Bros will release its new "Superman" movie directed by "Guardians of the Galaxy" filmmaker James Gunn and starring David Corenswet.
From Marvel, the anti-hero team "Thunderbolts" will kick off the summer moviegoing season in early May, followed by "The Fantastic Four" in late July.
Around the November and December holidays, offerings include the second part of musical box office phenomenon "Wicked," animated sequel "Zootopia 2" and "Avatar: Fire and Ash," the third film in James Cameron's "Avatar" series. The first "Avatar" is the highest-grossing movie of all time, and the second movie ranks third.
Robbins projected 2025 would end with a slight increase in domestic box office receipts compared with last year, "maybe flirting with $9 billion." He said it is unclear when ticket sales will return to pre-pandemic levels.
Richards said he believed the new "Avatar" would kick off "an extraordinary three to five years" for cinemas.
"We're going to see (Avatar) as the tipping point," Richards said. "2026 has got an extraordinary number of great films."