BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, January 19 - HBO Max has a new winner in its hands as the series adaptation of the hit PlayStation game The Last of Us scores second biggest-ever premiere viewership on the streamer. ## According to Variety, "The Last of Us" scored 10 million views within two days after debuting on Sunday with 4.7 million views, which is the second biggest for HBO Max, behind only "House Of The Dragon's" 10 million. The viewership numbers are only for the US audience as HBO Max doesn't disclose global stats. ## "The Last of Us" viewership topped "Game of Thrones" which garnered just 4.2 million premiere viewers in 2011. Sunday numbers for "The Last of Us" were nearly double the Season 2 premiere night returns for "Euphoria", HBO's biggest modern-day hit next to "House of the Dragon", per Variety. ## "We are thrilled to see fans of the series and game alike experience this iconic story in a new way, and we extend our gratitude to them for helping to make it a success", Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO & HBO Max Content, said.## The show is premiering on Disney Plus Hotstar in India with English subtitles. The second episode will be premiered on January 22 with the finale episode scheduled for March 12, 2023. The show stars Pedro Pascal, and Bella Ramsey, among others in key roles.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, January 13 - Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn emerged as one of the most successful actors from the Hindi film industry in 2022. The actor had multiple releases in 2022, both in theaters and on digital platforms, and succeeded in both of them. ## The actor made his digital debut with the Disney Plus Hotstar series, titled Rudra: The Edge of Darkness and this turned out the most successful Hindi web show of 2022. According to a report by media consulting firm Ormax, "Rudra" scored 35.2 million viewership, making it the most-watched Hindi show of the year. ## The season of "Aashram" on MX Player was the second most-watched Hindi show with 34.3 million views, followed by the second season of "Panchayat" (29.6 million views) on Amazon Prime Video, "Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach" (23 million views) and "The Great Indian Murder" (23 million views). ## Ajay Devgn's also had stupendous success at the box office where his "Drishyam 2" emerged as the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2022 with a worldwide gross collection of 341+ crores. It is still playing in theaters and doing decent business. He also had blockbuster cameos in "Gangubai Kathiawadi" and "RRR" which were among the most successful Indian films of 2022.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, January 12 - Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has had an underwhelming 2022 year on the work front. The actor had multiple releases last year but none of them could become hits at the box office as all his films finished below the 100 crores mark domestically. ## Apart from the theatrical releases, Akshay also had a digital release in the form of the crime thriller Cuttputli and it has good success. A remake of the 2018 Tamil film "Ratsasan", "Cuttputli" is directed by Ranjit M. Tewari and produced by Pooja Entertainment. ## "Cuttputli" was the most-watched original Hindi film on Digital Platforms, according to Ormax Media. It was released on Disney Plus Hotstar on September 2 and scored 26.9 million views. Yami Gautam's "A Thursday" was the second most-watched film with 25.5 million views. It was also released on Disney+Hotstar. ## Disney Plus Hotstar was the biggest gainer from the Hindi film industry with 3 of its original movies crossing 24 million views each as "Govinda Naam Mera" scored 24.4 million views, per Ormax. Disney+ Hotstar (7 films), Prime Video & Netflix (4 films each) share the top 15 spots between them. ## The viewership data by Ormax Media has been collected through a methodology that consists of the number of people who watched the show (at least one full episode) or film (at least 30 mins). It does not represent the number of accounts used for watching the show/ film, e.g., three members of a family, or two friends, watching on the same account are considered as the unique audience. The numbers are only associated with Indian audiences. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, December 31 - HBO Max's one of the most watched shows, House of the Dragon couldn't prevent itself from hitting massive piracy.## According to torrentfreak, the popular "Game of Thrones" prequel is the most-pirated TV show released on torrent sites in 2022. ## HOTD dethroned Marvel/Disney+'s "Wandavision", which topped the chart of the most pirated show last year. Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is the second most pirated show, as per the site. The site didn't provide the number of pirated downloads.## For many years, "Game of Thrones" was the most pirated show in the world but after the series concluded with its last season in 2019. The focus has now been shifted to Disney Plus which is churning out blockbuster shows for the last few years.## In 2020, "The Mandalorian" was the most pirated show in the world, followed by "Wandavision" in 2021. And now, with Dragons returning to the screens with "House of the Dragon", it is now becoming hot among audiences across the world. ## Here are the most downloaded TV shows on BitTorrent, 2022 - ## 1. House of the Dragon (HBO Max)## 2. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Amazon Prime Video)## 3. The Boys (Amazon Prime Video)## 4. Moon Knight (Disney+) 5. Halo (Paramount+)## 6. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+)## 7. The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)## 8. Stranger Things (Netflix)## 9. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Disney+)## 10. Andor (Disney+)## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Hyderabad, December 30 - The expectations met reality when superstar Prabhas graced the most talked about Telugu talk show, Nandamuri Balakrishna-hosted Unstoppable With NBK season 2 on aha. ## Prabhas graced the latest episode of the show and it brought massive viewership for the aha OTT platform. Part 1 of Prabhas' episode, titled "Baahuabli Episode Part - 1" premiered on December 29, and within just 12 hours, the episode scored 50 million viewing minutes which is a record for the streamer.## It was reported that the aha site got crashed due to the unprecedented traffic as millions of Prabhas' fans tried to log in at the same time. The streamer announced the same and fixed the problem later. The episode is currently streaming in the Telugu language with English subtitles. ## The second part of the "Baahubali Episode" will be streaming on January on January 5. ## Records veta modalayyindhiii...🔥Bahubali episode part 1 is off to thunderous start! #UnstoppableWithNBKS2 #PrabhasOnAHA #MansionHouse @tnldoublehorse @realmeIndia @Fun88India #ChandaBrothers @sprite_india @BigCMobilesIND@MYDrPainRelief #Tilaknagarindustries pic.twitter.com/PPeHputo5y— ahavideoin (@ahavideoIN) December 30, 2022 ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, December 28 - There is no stopping Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick as it is now soaring to new heights on digital platforms after breaking records at the box office. ## The blockbuster sequel, which debuted on Paramount+ on December 22 in the USA, scored the biggest-ever opening weekend in the history of Paramount Plus. Paramount didn't disclose specific viewership numbers but according to Deadline, "Top Gun 2" surpassed "Sonic the Hedgehog's" previous premiere weekend viewership record by 60%.## "Top Gun 2" is the sequel to Cruise's "Top Gun" (1986) and in order to watch the former, audiences refreshed their memories on the original Top Gun movie, which saw viewership increase by about 400%. Cruise's "Mission Impossible" also witnessed a 140% jump in viewership on Paramount+.## In addition to the U.S. "Top Gun: Maverick" also debuted on Paramount+ in Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the UK, and Latin America. It will be available in South Korea and France in 2023.## Produced by Paramount Pictures, Skydance, and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, "Top Gun 2" is currently the highest-grossing film of 2022 with a worldwide collection of $1.48 billion. It is the biggest-grossing film in Tom Cruise's action-packed career. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, December 28 - Daniel Craig-fronted mystery film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has debuted at number 1 on Netflix, but failed to score the top 5 spots in the all-time list. ## Directed by Rian Johnson, the sequel scored 82.1 million viewing hours in the opening weekend (Dec. 23 - 25) and was the number 1 movie (English and non-English) worldwide on the streamer during Dec. 19 - 25 week. It scored the 6th biggest opening weekend for Netflix of all time. ## The top five biggest Netflix films in the opening weekend are "Red Notice (148.72 million hours), "Don't Look Up" (111.03 million hours), "The Adam Project" (92.43 million hours), "The Gray Man" (88.55 million hours), and "The Unforgivable" (85.86 million hours). ## "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is the first Netflix movie to get a theatrical release from all three major American theater chains (AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, and Regal Cinemas) after director Johnson pushed the streamer for big screen release first.## The movie had a low release in over 700 theaters in North America but made a big impact as it grossed around $13 million over the five-day holiday weekend. The first "Knives Out" (2019) movie was a huge hit for Lionsgate as it grossed over $310 million worldwide. ## According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Glass Onion" could have scored $40 million - $50 million in the opening weekend had it got a traditional theatrical release which Netflix didn't do and let the opportunity to earn millions from theatrical grosses.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Hyderabad, December 27 - Telugu veteran actor Nandamuri Balakrishna made a successful digital debut, hosting Aha Video's talk show Unstoppable With NBK last year. The show gave immense popularity to Telugu's new OTT platform as season 1 featured some of the top Telugu personalities as guests including SS Rajamouli, Allu Arjun, Ravi Teja, Nani, Sukumar, and Rashmika Mandanna, among others. ## The last episode of "Unstoppable With NBK" season 1 premiered on 4 February 2022 and it concluded with a bang with superstar Mahesh Babu gracing the show, which was one of the most watched episodes of the season. Aha Video later announced that NBK would return for the season to host this blockbuster show and this time, the makers aimed to take the show a notch higher. ## The first episode of season 2 premiered on October 14 with former Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu, and Nara Lokesh gracing it as guests. However, as said before, the season aimed at something big, and this time, the makers hit the jackpot by bringing two of the biggest superstars in the country, Prabhas and Pawan Kalyan. ## Prabhas has already shot his episode which will be premiered on December 30. The superstar will be coming to the show with his dear friend and the actor Gopichand. The makers recently dropped the teaser which took the internet by storm and makers are already anticipating it to become one of the most watched episodes in the talk show history. ## After Prabhas' episode, all eyes will be on one of the show's next episodes which might turn out the biggest in "Unstoppable With NBK" show history and that is with Superstar Pawan Kalyan who carries a massive fan following in Telugu states. The shoot for PSPK's episode will take place on December 27 and it might premiere around mid-January 2023. ## The viewership of "Unstoppable With NBK" is expected to be peaked during Prabhas and Pawan Kalyan's episodes, especially the episode with Pawan Kalyan is most likely to hit the bull's eye for Aha which is fast becoming a very popular OTT platform in Telugu states. Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, December 21 - Akshay Kumar-fronted action-adventure film Ram Setu was released on October 25 amid much anticipation. The Abhishek Sharma-directed movie was expected to be one of the biggest grossers of the year, but it couldn't live up to the expectation and underperformed at the box office with a worldwide collection of around 97 crores gross. ## "Ram Setu" was co-produced by Amazon Prime, marking its production debut in India. On Wednesday, Akshay Kumar took to social media and announced the digital premiere of the movie. The film, which also stars Jacqueline Fernandez, Nushrratt Bharuccha, and Satya Dev in key roles, will start streaming on Prime Video on December 23 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages. ## Get on this high-octane expedition with us 🔍🌊#RamSetuOnPrime, Dec 23 only on @PrimeVideoIN . pic.twitter.com/vrjF1m0a3U— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) December 21, 2022 ## The movie follows an archeologist named Dr. Aryan Kulshrestha (Akshay) who is investigating the nature of Ram Setu, also known as Adam's Bridge. In the movie, Dr. Kulshrestha has been tasked to investigate the historical validity of Ram Setu. Being a non-believer, Dr. Aryan doubts Ram Setu is a man-made structure, however, upon conducting scientific research, he finds that the structure is actually human-made, implying that Rama was a historical figure after all. ## The movie received mixed to positive responses from audiences. It is now expected to draw a huge audience on Prime Video. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, December 20 - The final of the Fifa World Cup 2022 between Argentina and France was watched all over the world in record numbers. Lionel Messi's Argentina defeated France in one of the greatest World Cup matches ever in penalties after thrilling and epic 120 minutes of play. ## In India, Jio Cinema streamed the match and witnessed the biggest viewing peak for a sporting event on a digital platform ever with 32 million people tuned in to watch it at once. This, when India wasn't even part of the tournament, shows the incredible fan following, especially of Argentina because of Messi. ## Jio Cinema, an over-the-top streaming service, owned by Viacom18, a subsidiary of TV18, said digital viewership crossed television numbers for the first time for a global marquee sports event. The company said about 40 billion minutes of watch time was clocked across its channel Sports18 and the OTT platform. "The tournament became the most-watched global sports event on digital where India has not participated. This demonstrates the power of digital and the preference viewers and fans have shown to consume their favorite events, which will now see Paris Saint-Germain teammates and Fifa World Cup Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe and Fifa World Cup and Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi join forces in the Ligue1", said Viacom18 Sports' CEO Anil Jayaraj.## Apart from India, the final of the Fifa event witnessed the biggest-ever viewership in the U.S. on Fox channel with 16.8 million viewership. That tally easily topped its previous record holder, Italy vs. Brazil final in 1994 with 14.5 million viewers, per Variety.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, December 15 - Netflix continues to score big success from its non-English content, and the latest to strike gold for the streamer is the Norwegian film Troll. ## The action-adventure monster film "Troll" has become the most-watched non-English movie ever on Netflix, beating "Blood Red Sky" within just two weeks. The film premiered on December 1st, and by December 11, it scored 128 million viewing hours to become the number 1 non-English film. ## "Troll" is in the Top 10 in 93 countries including Norway, France, Germany, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico, and it is trending at the number 1 position in 62 countries. It is also the 4th Netflix non-English film to breach the 100 million viewing hours mark. ## In the film, a Norwegian addition to the ever-popular kaiju genre, deep inside the mountain of Dovre, Norway, something gigantic awakens after being trapped for a thousand years. Destroying everything in its path, the creature is fast approaching the capital of Norway, with city-dwellers struggling to stop something they thought existed only in Norwegian folklore.## The previous most popular non-English film on Netflix this year was Peter Thorwarth's "Blood Red Sky" (110.5M), where a woman with a mysterious illness is forced into action when a group of terrorists attempts to hijack a transatlantic overnight flight. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, December 14 - Netflix has another breakout hit in the form of coming-of-age supernatural comedy horror series Wednesday, which has become the 3rd most-watched series ever on Netflix. ## Released on November 23, the series has crossed 1 billion viewing hours, only 3rd Netflix show to do so, in just 19 days, and with 1.02 billion streaming hours, it is currently the 3rd most series on the streamer (English and Non-English), according to the company's watch-time stats released Tuesday.## Korean global hit "Squid Game" Season 1 is currently the number 1 show on Netflix with 1.65 billion viewing hours, followed by "Stranger Things 4" (English) with 1.35 billion watch hours. "Wednesday", which is based upon the character Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family, still has more than a week to keep accruing watch hours toward its ranking. ## Netflix ranks the popularity of its shows by the total number of hours they're watched within their first 28 days of release, and Wednesday's latest stats count viewing from its Nov. 23 release through Sunday (Dec. 11). ## Stay tuned...