Posted in: Amazon Studios, Lord of The Rings, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, lord of the rings, preview, prime video, the rings of power, trailer

Lord of the Rings: TROP Scores Biggest Amazon Premiere Ever With 25M

A day after concerns were raised that Amazon's Prime Video series was the victim of some troll-based "review bombing" (more on that in a minute), the streaming service is reporting that the J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay co-created The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power pulled in 25 million viewers on its first day. And with that, "The Rings of Power" is the largest premiere in Amazon's Prime Video 15-year run. Considering the financial stake Amazon has in the series' success, the news comes as a big sigh of relief for many within the company. "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 Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke in a statement. "I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy. And it is the tens of millions of fans watching – clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are – who are our true measure of success."

Heading into the Prime Video series' two-episode debut, the streaming series was riding an impressive 83% "Fresh" average score on Rotten Tomatoes (RT) with critics. But over on RT, there was a shocking contrast when it came to the audience review, hovering around an average 37% "Rotten" score, resulting in many viewing it as another example of "review bombing." And over on the streamer, Amazon suspended its ratings system for the show, with a source telling The Hollywood Reporter that "reviews are being held 72 hours to help weed out trolls and to ensure each review is legitimate," a policy reportedly instituted earlier this summer for all of Prime Video's shows.

While the majority of reviews on RT addressed specific issues with the series, a number of other comments appeared aimed more at attacking the show for societal or political issues they believe the show is attempting to make and not on the actual quality of the streaming series itself. For example, "They wanted to involve such an important work with current politics and they have succeeded" and  "Reflecting world diversity in Middle Earth is an odd goal, albeit good for marketing maybe, but it was clearly more important than making a functional TV series." If this sounds familiar, it should. Disney+ and Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was also reportedly review-bombed, heading into its premiere with an 88% "Fresh" average score among critics, only to get hit with a 36% "Rotten" average score among viewers. What will be interesting to see will be if The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will see a bump in its audience score once "bombs" are factored out of the equation. For example, She-Hulk saw a jump from 36% to 50% over the past week (though there are rumblings of concerns that the series may be targeted again after a recent appearance by Megan Thee Stallion was met with some harsh social media pushback).

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!