Tolkien fans have called on Amazon to cancel Rings of Power since its inception due to high costs and a rapidly diminishing audience. But it turns out that’s a lot easier said than done.
When Amazon Prime Video launched The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the company envisioned its own Game of Thrones. Instead, the show has become a staggering money pit — one that continues to drain resources and limit opportunities for the rest of Amazon’s content slate.
Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV; Sophia Nomvete as Disa in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
According to The Ankler, the first season alone cost north of $465 million, not even counting the $250 million Amazon paid for the global rights to Tolkien’s works or the hundreds of millions spent on marketing. By the time viewers at home were tallying their impressions, Amazon had spent well over three quarters of a billion dollars just to get the show on the air.
And yet, reports show that only 37% of domestic Prime subscribers finished the first season. Overseas completion was only marginally better at 45%. For context, a 50% completion rate at Amazon is considered “unspectacular.” In other words, not even half the audience could be bothered to stick around until the finale.
The Cost of Quitting
The cruel truth is that Amazon may not be able to cancel Rings of Power even if it wants to. The Tolkien estate’s kill fee ensures every unfinished season costs the company another $20 million just to walk away. With season three already in production and five seasons originally committed, the company is boxed in.
The Balrog in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
That’s why Amazon continues to press forward — not because Rings of Power is working, but because canceling could be even more expensive than continuing.
For all of its grand ambitions, The Rings of Power has become a case study in corporate excess: a billion-dollar albatross tethered around Amazon’s neck. And unless something dramatic changes, the only magic left in Middle-earth will be how fast this money pit keeps swallowing cash.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Rings of Power Has Collapsed
If Amazon hoped the second season would steady the ship, the opposite occurred. The Luminate TV and Film Report for 2024 shows The Rings of Power Season 2 performed a staggering 60% worse than its predecessor. Despite Amazon’s attempts to spin the narrative, the billion-dollar series appears to have been abandoned by a massive portion of its audience, cementing its reputation as one of the most costly entertainment failures ever produced.
A screenshot from the Luminate 2024/2025 TV and Film Report that shows low viewership for Marvel and The Rings of Power – Luminate
The math is brutal. Season 1 pulled in nearly 8 billion minutes watched, a figure Amazon loudly promoted as proof of success. But season 2 nosedived to around 3 billion minutes—a catastrophic drop that demonstrates most of the curious viewers who sampled the first season had no desire to return.
The fallout from season one’s weak reception was swift. Prime Video initiated a wave of layoffs, cutting hundreds of jobs across both Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Yet Jennifer Salke, the now former head of Amazon Studios and architect of the franchise’s strategy, remained defiant.
In interviews, Salke claimed: “Over 55 million people at this point have engaged since season two launched.”
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel; Benjamin Walker as High King Gil-galad; Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
She further boasted that over 150 million viewers had supposedly “watched and engaged” with the show overall. But those words rang hollow as Nielsen and Luminate metrics painted a very different story—one of declining interest and shrinking audiences.
Salke stuck to the party line, insisting, “This is a long-term investment in that franchise,” and reiterating Amazon’s five-season vision. However, she notably avoided confirming the much-touted 50-episode commitment, suggesting doubts may already be circulating within Amazon’s executive ranks.
Industry Sees a Failure
Hollywood insiders aren’t sugarcoating the situation.
“They should cancel it and move on,” one veteran literary agent told The Ankler about The Rings of Power before adding that Amazon “wildly overpaid” for the rights.
Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
Another industry source noted bluntly, “Nobody is thinking of Lord of the Rings when you talk about Amazon’s big hits. You’re thinking about Fallout, Reacher, and Summer, all shows that cost significantly less.”
That’s the harsh truth: Amazon’s supposed crown jewel is overshadowed by mid-budget genre fare that audiences actually finish.
The Salke Spending Legacy
Much of this debacle is tied to the tenure of Jennifer Salke, who oversaw what insiders describe as a free-spending era.
Amazon shelled out an estimated $20 billion on content in 2024 alone, with Rings of Power devouring a massive slice of that budget. One prolific showrunner recalled feeling boxed out.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 15: Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios attends “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere & Screening on August 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
“All of their money is taken up with Lord of the Rings, and you’re left wondering if you’ll be able to get what you need in order to produce your show,” they said.
Even former Amazon executives are now admitting Salke’s “irresponsible financial development strategy” put the brakes on other projects, forcing the company to become more conservative in greenlighting content.
In other words, the billions wasted on Rings of Power may have prevented the next breakout Amazon hit from ever being made, and many are pointing the finger at Salke.
Conclusion: The Price of Pride
Amazon wanted to own Middle-earth, and for a brief moment, it seemed willing to pay any price to make that happen. Now the company finds itself shackled to a show that the public has largely rejected, locked into contracts that make quitting nearly as costly as continuing.
What was once hyped as the streaming world’s crown jewel has instead become its cautionary tale — a reminder that money alone cannot buy cultural relevance, nor force audiences to care.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 25: (L-R) Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay speak onstage during The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power SDCC Press Preview Event at Venue 808 on July 25, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios)
As other Amazon originals like Fallout and Reacher soar at a fraction of the cost, The Rings of Power lingers as a billion-dollar burden. And unless executives muster the courage to cut their losses, the saga of this series may ultimately be remembered not for Tolkien’s magic, but for Amazon’s folly.
Will Amazon cancel Rings of Power? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Women ruin everything.
Amazon did have this expensive Golden Goose in the palm of their hands, but the Rings of Power Executives transformed The Tolkien legacy into a screen abomination. Similar to what they did with The Wheel of Time. And what happened to The Witcher.
But what is even more disappointing is these “estate holders” surrendering their control and granting rights to these virtue signaling buffoons in return for fat checks.
Simon Tolkien is a perfect example–he’s a disgrace to his grandfather and the mythology he worked so hard to create…
Bezos could pay any necessary cancelation fee without blinking an eye; it’s likely his ego won’t let him pull the plug–
If the show drags on to a fifth season, hopefully ratings will continue to crash, and it can serve as a warning that some authors and classic stories are not to be desecrated, and fans can make a difference…
Fans don’t care about “high costs and a rapidly diminishing audience”, although we do note that.
We do care about how Amazon is destroying Anglo-Saxon culture, etc. with their woke messaging and narratives.
Correct me of I am wrong. 20 million kill switch per undone season. 3 seasons left. 60 millions, that is crumbs! Do it now.
Also, numbers presented in the article are shocking from 8b to 3b, we can predict pretty well what numbers we will see for season 3 if it ever airs.
If Bezos is still a businessman, he will activate that Killswitch fee, be it 60 million or 80.
Rings of Power is such a souless and hallow show. Literally should be called “Rings of Empowered women” because thats all there is to it.