Amazon Gives ‘The Rings Of Power’ Theatrical Push Ahead Of Prime Video Premiere

Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Netflix, Peacock, Discovery+ and even more streaming services, there’s no shortage of options when choosing what to binge-watch this weekend. However, sometimes the amount of great film and television available to stream can be overwhelming and lead to scrolling aimlessly — hoping to land on that perfect piece of content.  Scroll no more! To help you out, ET has rounded up the best movies and TV shows to stream this weekend, including new arrivals, nostalgia-filled favorites and titles you may have missed the (well-deserved) hype on that are worth circling back for.From all the Disney Plus Day releases including to new episodes of  and HBO's, we’ve got your content covered this week. For even more recommendations, make sure to check out our guide for everything new on Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV+ and more this month.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power have issued a statement condemning “the relentless racism, threats, harassment and abuse” levelled against some of the show’s actors.Written by the actors and shared via Rings of Power’s Twitter page today (September 8), the statement comes after the series — a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy — received racist backlash regarding the diversity of its cast.The statement addresses the treatment that “some of [the] castmates of color are being subject to”, with the lead ensemble — which includes POC actors Ismael Cruz Cordova, Sophia Nomvete and Lenny Henry — writing that they “refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.”We stand in solidarity with our cast.

Elon Musk’s verdict on Amazon’s massive budget drama series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? “Tolkien is turning in his grave”.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has become the biggest opening premiere in Amazon Prime Video’s history.Following the release of the first two episodes on Friday (September 2), Amazon shared that the show had earned 25million viewers in the first 24 hours after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide”.Speaking about the milestone, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.“I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is set thousands of years before the events depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” telling a story set during what Tolkien called the Second Age – an era of prosperity and peace that is soon threatened by the re-emergence of an evil sorcerer named Sauron.The TV series features all the various races found in Tolkien’s books and Peter Jackson’s film adaptations – humans, dwarves, elves, orcs and hobbit-like Harfoots – but there is a major difference between this series and how the world of Middle-earth has been depicted before.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has become Amazon Prime Video's most-watched premiere ever. The fantasy television series' debut drew a global audience of more than 25 million viewers, the largest in the streaming platform's 15-year history, according to a report by Deadline on Saturday. "Rings of Power", which is based on J.R.R.Tolkien's classic "The Lord of the Rings" novels, premiered Thursday in 250 countries and territories.

record with 10 million viewers in its premiere last month and boosted its viewership by 2% for its second episode. “The Rings of Power” is led by showrunners and executive producers Payne and Patrick McKay.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the biggest thing Amazon Prime Video has ever done, and it looks like the TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing has delivered big time.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” debuted its first two episodes Thursday night — and hardcore Tolkien buffs aren’t doing a happy jig down at the Prancing Pony. “Rings of Power,” a $715 million gamble (some reports say it cost $1 billion) for Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, has scored a measly 37% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes with more than 2,800 user reviews so far. (On the flip side, HBO’s “House of the Dragon” has an 85% fan score.)“Nothing short of cringeworthy,” wrote Eric.

SPOILER ALERT: This podcast contains details of the first two episodes of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which debuted Thursday night. For more on the epic series, watch Deadline’s Inside The Ring: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power after-show that launches Saturday. 

Could this be Sauron?

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic Several years (and several hundreds of millions of dollars) after Amazon bought the TV rights to “The Lord of the Rings” from the J.R.R. Tolkien estate, the mammoth effort to boost Prime Video’s profile with the same kind of phenomenon HBO found in “Game of Thrones” is upon us — and it’s just as grand, if not as downright surreal, as the occasion calls for. Sure, “Game of Thrones” might have solidified a television format for fantasy epics. But George R.R. Martin’s novels simply wouldn’t exist without Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” and bringing these stories to episodic life requires not just all the considerable money Amazon can provide, but a certain amount of guts from the TV writers taking it on now, some 85 years after “The Hobbit” changed the game. 

“The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.” Based on the appendices of the original trilogy, the series expands upon the original text to answer some of the crucial queries proposed by Tolkein. Questions like: what cost does war have on the young lives supplied to fight it? At what point is the individual greater than the community? How does one preserve their legacy? These eternal haunting questions search for answers amongst the resplendent beauty of New Zealand’s vast terrain, charming new characters and frightening paths to a country divided and at war. The series begins with a black screen and the words, “Nothing is evil in the beginning. And there was a time when the world was so young there had not yet been a sunrise.

The wildly successful premiere of “House of the Dragon,” the prequel to HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” was criticized by some viewers for being a bit too overly familiar. Anyone who felt that way about the origin story of the Targaryens is likely to have a similar response to Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” the streaming giant’s incredibly expensive tale of the early days of Middle-earth and the characters created by J.R.R.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power descended on London last night (August 30) for the new series’ red carpet world premiere.At London’s historic Leicester Square, nearly 2,000 people – comprising cast, crew, fans and more – attended the Odean Luxe and Cineworld. Among them were all 22 of the series’ cast regulars, including Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Maxim Baldry (Isildur), Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Sir Lenny Henry (Sadoc Burrows), Ema Horvath (Eärien), Lloyd Owen (Elendil) and Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor).Also in attendance were showrunners J.D.

Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power global premiere last night, joking about his notes to showrunners and son’s “Don’t f*ck it up” advice as the battle of the tentpole prequels between Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s House of the Dragon hots up.

K.J. Yossman Amazon boss Jeff Bezos (pictured above, left) thanked “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne at the U.K. premiere of the Amazon Prime Video series on Tuesday night – for ignoring his notes on the show. “Every showrunner’s dream – and I mean every showrunner – their dream is to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman,” Bezos quipped while introducing the first two episodes of the series at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square. “They loved that. I need to thank you both for listening whenever it helped but mostly I need to thank you for ignoring me at exactly the right times.”

Variety interviewed 18 out of the 23 series regulars that star on “The Rings of Power” in order to give readers a primer on both the actors themselves, as well as the characters they will be playing on the series from showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

dropping weekly, the premiere of a highly anticipated prequel series, plus plenty of movies and TV shows, new and old alike, arriving this month.Amazon's $465 million fantasy series,, takes fans thousands of years into Middle Earth's past. kicks off September 15 and will stream exclusively on Prime Video for the 2022 NFL season.Access to Prime Video is a perk included in an Amazon Prime membership, available for $15 monthly or $140 for the year. If you aren't already subscribed or just want access to the Prime Video library, a membership to Prime Video is available for $9 monthly.

Veteran British comedian turned actor Sir Lenny Henry applauds the decision by producers of The Lord of The Rings series to create a racially diverse cast.