“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has a low US completion rate

Since its premiere last September, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has been proudly labeled a hit by Amazon. Prime Video announced that the fantasy series premiere day broke the streamer’s record with 25 million viewers. As of March, Amazon called it the biggest show ever, with more than 100 million listeners worldwide. However, streaming ratings are always nebulous. , and a new report questions the show’s success.

According to a new report, only 37 percent of viewers who started “The Rings of Power” in the United States watched all eight episodes. The Hollywood Reporter. The number was not shared directly by Amazon, but is said to have come from sources within the organization. Completion rates were significantly better overseas, but at 45 percent, less than half of viewers were compelled to complete Amazon’s Middle-earth adventure.

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IndieWire has reached out to an Amazon Studios representative for comment.

Granted, it’s hard to say exactly how these fulfillment rates compare to other shows, Amazon or otherwise. Streamers that publish viewership figures never share completion rates for their titles, so success is measured by the raw number of hours viewers spend watching the show — even if some tuned in for just two minutes. Still, according to a Hollywood Reporter story, Amazon insiders said that a 50 percent fulfillment rate is considered a “solid but not spectacular result” for an original.

Based on a script by JRR Tolkien and developed for television by JD Payne and Patrick McKay, “Rings of Power” arrived on Amazon last fall and has been widely expected to be a hit from the streamer and received largely positive reviews from critics. Amazon also needed “Rings of Power” to be a hit; Season 1 alone cost $465 million.

But while the show managed to land at number 15 on Nielson’s year-end list of the best streaming original shows, it also had a somewhat subdued response from audiences; on social media was completely overshadowed by “House of the Dragon” which attracted significantly more online conversation according to Parrot Analytics. The show was also largely ignored by the awards bodies this year; Meanwhile, “House of the Dragon” received a Golden Globe award in the category of best drama series.

The reveal of “Rings of Power’s” completion rate is part of a broader Hollywood Reporter story about Amazon Studios’ struggle to produce a breakout hit for the Prime Video streamer; Sources cited in the story shared their frustration with poor decision-making and a lack of vision by studio head Jennifer Salke and television head Vernon Sanders.

Salke, quoted in the story, claimed that “250 million households” worldwide receive Prime Video; It’s unclear how Amazon tracks Prime Video viewers as opposed to its general Prime subscription model, but the company’s latest report says it has 200 million subscribers in 2021.

Salke also claimed that “Rings of Power” was successful in its storyline, saying that “the desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — that doesn’t reflect any of my internal conversations.” He also said he expects the show’s second season, which is currently in production, to attract even more buzz: “It’s a huge opportunity for us. The first season required a lot of adjustment.”

“The Rings of Power” takes place thousands of years before the events presented in “The Lord of the Rings”. The show, which stars Morfydd Clark as the immortal warrior elf Galadriel, is co-executive produced by Payne and McKay, Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill and Gennifer Hutchinson, along with Charlotte Brandström. , produced by Kate Hazell and Helen Shang, and co-produced by Andrew Lee, Matthew Penry-Davey and Clare Buxton.

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