Amazon.com said its pricey "Lord of the Rings" prequel series was watched by more than 25 million viewers around the world on its first day, a record debut for a Prime Video series.
The company released the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on its streaming service in more than 240 countries and territories on Friday. Amazon did not say whether the viewers it counted had watched all or part of the first and second episodes.
Future "Rings of Power" installments will be launched weekly until the October 14 season finale.
The series takes place in J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth at a time known as the Second Age, a period 4,000 years before the events in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit novels and films.
Amazon plans to let the full story unfold in 50 hours over five seasons.
The online retailer spent more than $465 million producing the show's first season, which was filmed in New Zealand, making it among the most expensive TV series ever produced and the most ambitious since Amazon jumped into original programming in 2013.
The company has received acclaim for shows such as Transparent and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but viewership for those series has not been disclosed.
K-pop supergroup BTS will head to the United States this month to start working on new music and will launch its next album early next year ahead of a world tour, it said on Tuesday.
King Charles has decided to scrap Britain's royal train, a service dating back to Queen Victoria, because it is no longer cost-effective, as the monarchy sees its public funding soar by an extra 46 million pounds ($63 million) for the next two years.
Apple's high-octane racing film "F1: The Movie" roared to the top of the US and Canadian box office this weekend, fuelled by star-power and a finely-tuned marketing campaign, according to Comscore.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, flush from their Venice wedding ceremony on Friday, are gearing up for the final day of partying in the lagoon city with scores of celebrity guests from media, fashion and show business.