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“Dune: Prophecy” debuted to a lukewarm audience.
The series premiere of “Dune: Prophecy” brought in 1.2 million viewers across HBO and Max on Sunday, according to Warner Bros. Discovery internal data. Viewership for the debut episode of “Dune: Prophecy” was on par with “The Penguin,” whose series premiere scored 1.4 million cross-platform viewers on a Thursday, before “The Batman” spinoff series moved to Sundays.
Viewership for the debut episode of “Dune: Prophecy” saw a 75% uptick the day after its premiere, growing to reach 2.1 million viewers across platforms.
“The Penguin,” which aired its finale just a week before “Dune: Prophecy” took over HBO’s coveted Sunday night spot, grew to 2.1 million viewers for its finale, marking a series high. Its series premiere went on to draw 18 million viewers in the U.S. since its Sept. 19 debut.
The premiere of “Dune: Prophecy” paled in comparison to the series premiere of “The Last of Us,” which brought in 4.7 million viewers across HBO and Max in January 2023. At the time, that series marked HBO’s second-largest debut — behind only “House of the Dragon” — since “Boardwalk Empire” premiered on the network in 2010.
Taking place 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, the “Dune” prequel series follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit, per the official logline.
Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May and Mark Strong star in “Dune: Prophecy” alongside Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Josh Heuston, Chloe Lea, Jade Anouka, Faoileann Cunningham, Edward Davis, Aoife Hinds, Chris Mason, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Camilla Beeput, Jihae, Tabu, Charithra Chandran, Jessica Barden, Emma Canning and Yerin Ha.
New episodes of the six-episode season debut Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.
