Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” had a soft start for Season 2 and couldn’t fend off Netflix’s “Worst Ex Ever” for the No. 1 spot among streaming original TV series for the Aug. 30-Sept. 5 period.
Meanwhile, Lee Daniels’ “The Deliverance” topped the streaming original movies chart for the frame. The Netflix horror pic starring Andra Day and Glenn Close racked up 8.3 million views and 930.8 million minutes viewed after bowing Aug. 30.
“The Rings of Power” weighed in with 764.7 million minutes watched during the week for the three episodes that bowed Aug. 29. Season 2 was delayed by last year’s writers and actors strike. Two years after its Labor Day weekend 2022 premiere, the second installment of the latest Tolkien adaptation has generated 827.9 million minutes viewed in total to date. That’s a respectable performance, but given the marquee value of the property and its high profile for Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, expectations were undoubtedly higher.
The arrival of Season 2 gave a boost to Season 1 viewership of “The Rings of Power.” The first season jumped back into the streaming original series top 10, settling out at No. 8 for the week with 229.2 million minutes viewed.
“Worst Ex Ever,” a four-episode horror documentary series from Blumhouse Television, topped the series rankings with 939.1 million minutes watched during the period. Coming it at No. 3 was Netflix’s “The Accident.” The Mexican drama series, which ranked No. 1 the previous week, held up well in week two with 589.4 million minutes watched.
The Jeff Goldblum starrer “Kaos” was a new entrant on the series chart this week at No. 4. In its first full week in release, the fantasy drama series delivered 580.8 million minutes watched across eight episodes.
As for the movies top 10, a newcomer this week was the Peacock documentary “Gary,” a look at the troubled life of child star Gary Coleman. The docu helmed by Robin Dashwood generated 102.8 million minutes watched and 1.1 million views.
(Disclosure: Luminate and Variety share a common owner in Penske Media Corp.)
(Pictured: “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”)
