MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, is dominating streaming platform Prime Video with his new "Beast Games" game show competition.
Here's a look at the early data and what's next.
What Happened: Record-breaking game show "Beast Games" premiered its first two episodes on Prime Video Dec. 19.
The show, considered the world's largest live game show, promises to award the "biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming" by Amazon.com Inc AMZN, the owner of Prime Video.
While official viewership figures for the first two episodes have not been released, "Beast Games" was the most-watched Prime Video show or movie last week, according to Donaldson.
"Beast Games is #1 in the US and I cannot express how grateful I am for all of the love and support! I, and countless talented people really put so much love and passion into it, and seeing everyone's reactions has been amazing! Thanks guys!" he tweeted.
The content creator, who is the most followed individual on YouTube, tweeted that the show was number one on Prime Video in almost half the countries on Earth, naming many in the post.
Prime Video saw the previous week led by "Red One," a Christmas movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Chris Evans. Amazon said over 50 million people watched the movie in its first week. "Beast Games" knocked "Red One" down to number two across many territories.
Knocking a movie that set the premiere week record for Prime Video shouldn't go unnoticed for Prime Video, especially a Christmas movie in the weeks ahead of the holiday.
Amazon bet aggressively on "Beast Games," reportedly beating out other streaming and media companies for the content creator's game show idea.
“Amazon will give us the most creative control,” Donaldson previously said. “Other platforms didn’t. There’s a reason we went with Amazon.”
Beast Games is a big bet for Prime Video. The reported cost is around $100 million and includes building a city for the show. But with strong initial viewership it looks like the bet could pay off.
Donaldson shared the first 10 minutes of the premiere episode of "Beast Games" on X and YouTube. Viewers must go to Prime Video to watch the full episode.
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What's Next: For 10 episodes, "Beast Games" will eliminate contestants. The winner will take home the $5 million prize.
The next episode will premiere on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 12 p.m. ET. The episode's release comes out the same day as the highly anticipated second season of "Squid Game" on Netflix Inc NFLX. This means Netflix and Amazon will be pitted against each other for viewership the day after the Christmas holiday.
The "Beast Games" finale episode premieres on Feb. 13 and likely break several world records. It will also showcase Amazon's bet on MrBeast and his game show vision in full.
"Beast Games" may be far from over with the website hinting at future seasons.
"Don't miss your chance to be part of the excitement and competition in the future. Enter your email below to be notified when applications reopen for the next Beast Games!" the Beast Games website reads.
For Donaldson and potentially Amazon, granted they sign on for additional seasons, this could be the beginning of one of the most-watched game shows worldwide.
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