The bad news continues for Amazon Prime Studios as a third-party ratings report confirmed that The Rings of Power season two was a total disaster for the streaming platform.
The Luminate TV and Film Report for 2024 paints a grim picture for Amazon’s The Rings of Power, with season two performing a staggering 60% worse than its predecessor. Despite Amazon’s efforts to spin the narrative, the billion-dollar series appears to have been abandoned by a significant portion of its audience, cementing its place as one of the most costly entertainment failures in recent memory.
A screenshot from the Luminate 2024/2025 TV and Film Report that shows low viewership for Marvel and The Rings of Power – Luminate
The numbers tell the story. Season one garnered nearly 8 billion minutes watched, a figure Amazon touted as evidence of success. However, season two collapsed to approximately 3 billion minutes—an astronomical drop that signals the majority of viewers who sampled the first season didn’t return.
These findings align with earlier reports from The Hollywood Reporter, where Kim Masters revealed that only 37% of viewers actually completed the first season. This means 63% turned off the series midstream and never looked back—a dire statistic for a show reportedly produced on a $1 billion budget.
And somehow the second season performed worse.
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel and Charlie Vickers as Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
The fallout from the underwhelming reception to season one was immediate. Amazon Prime Video initiated a mass layoff, cutting hundreds of jobs across Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. However, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, remained resolute in her defense of the show.
Salke tried to paint season two as a success during its run, even as Nielsen ratings clearly demonstrated a mass exodus of viewers.
In an interview, Salke claimed, “Over 55 million people at this point have engaged since season two launched,” and boasted that over 150 million viewers had supposedly “watched and engaged” with the show overall.
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)
She added, “This is a long-term investment in that franchise,” while doubling down on the studio’s five-season plan for the series. However, Salke avoided giving a definitive confirmation about the much-touted 50-episode commitment, signaling potential doubts within Amazon’s executive suite.
Nonetheless, despite critical panning and audience abandonment, The Rings of Power season three has been greenlit.
Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay—who faced intense scrutiny for their lack of experience before being handed control of the most expensive show in history—enthusiastically confirmed their continued involvement.
Speaking to Screen Rant in an article that called their failing show a “hit,” the pair offered vague platitudes, stating, “We’re prepping now, very, very intensely,” and promised that the upcoming season would be “awesome.”
While Payne and McKay may be optimistic, fans remain skeptical. The series has faced relentless criticism for prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives over faithful storytelling. Many longtime Tolkien fans decried the show for its deviations from established lore, its focus on “girlboss” characters, and shallow writing that failed to capture the spirit of Middle-earth.
These choices alienated a core audience who value Tolkien’s world for its rich complexity, timeless themes, and meticulous detail.
Robert Aramayo as Elrond and Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
Amazon’s billion-dollar gamble was meant to cement The Rings of Power as a cultural juggernaut, but the project now serves as a cautionary tale. The colossal drop in viewership, coupled with lackluster audience reception, shows what happens when corporate priorities clash with the expectations of passionate fans. Whether Season 3 can reverse the show’s fortunes remains to be seen, but the outlook is anything but promising.
As it stands, The Rings of Power ratings have become a stark reminder that no amount of money can compensate for poor creative decisions.
Are you surprised that The Rings of Power season two proved to be a massive ratings bomb? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts! And keep it here on That Park Place for all the news that should be fun!
It doesn’t matter how good the original story is. It could be Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, or anything else written by phenomenal writers.
The woke version will be garbage.
Once you sense anything woke about it, save your time and money. They do their best to hide it, the same way it took a while to find out how they were “educating” kindergarteners about sexuality. If it’s good, you’ll hear good stuff about it later and can catch up.
Hopefully Amazon will continue to lose money on the series, and other corporations may learn from RINGS OF POWER. They cannot take a work that has been beloved by generations of people, allow no-talent hacks to use it to push their own agendas, and then not expect pushback or indifference…
“She added, “This is a long-term investment in that franchise,” while doubling down on the studio’s five-season plan for the series.”
Well this is going to be special kind of train wreck.
kathleenkuntkennedy school of Drive Ahead At All Costs. Not a successful school to enroll in.
Failing upwards. The world view of the progressive mind for everyone who agrees with them, excluding men of course. Some men get an exception if they prostrate themselves on the alter of progressive ideals with lies like “my truth” and “trust her lived experience” type mindsets.
Success leading to upward momentum, how the world ought to be and sometimes we have been lucky enough to see newcomers get ahead, especially in luxury products like TV Shows.
The people in entertainment have an incestuous relationship. They would rather fail with their own mindset and people than succeed by providing innovation and entertainment that the majority want.
Laughable from people who spout “protect democracy” while only catering to the most minor and niche tastes that are nearly 100% attached to their own choice of color and friction.
Ae they really “rings of power” then? Perhaps the the rings of power to repel?
[…] put the drop-off in viewership between the primary and second seasons at an eye-watering 60%. At a price of £50m an episode, this isn’t a pattern even Amazon can maintain for lengthy. One […]
[…] la caída de la audiencia entre las primeras y la segunda temporada en un asado de un ojeroso 60%. A un costo de £ 50 millones por episodio, esto no es una tendencia que Amazon puede mantener por […]
[…] reports put the drop-off in viewership between the first and second seasons at an eye-watering 60%. At a cost of £50m an episode, this isn’t a trend even Amazon can sustain for long. Something […]
[…] reports put the drop-off in viewership between the first and second seasons at an eye-watering 60%. At a cost of £50m an episode, this isn’t a trend even Amazon can sustain for long. Something […]
[…] on its hands after launching The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Reports suggested that only 37% of viewers made it to the end of the first season, which is thought to have cost $465 million, in addition to […]
[…] on its hands after launching The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Reports suggested that only 37% of viewers made it to the end of the first season, which is thought to have cost $465 million, in addition to […]