Wonder Woman 1984 Dominated Christmas Viewership Numbers In Revised Nielsen Ratings

Wonder Woman 1984 dominated the week of Christmas 2020 in terms of viewership numbers, according to some revised Nielsen rating estimates. Nielsen had previously announced that the Disney+ release of Soul was the top-rated streaming release for the week of December 21 - 27, but WarnerMedia didn't think those findings sounded right and called for a review. Nielsen and WarnerMedia reviewed the viewership numbers together and came to the realization that indeed a big mistake had been made. Wonder Woman 1984 in fact outperformed Soul by about 35%, generating almost 2.3 billion minutes of viewing time, which is estimated to be about 14.9 million views.

Andy Forssell, EVP and GM of HBO Max, issued a statement on the revised Nielsen ratings for Wonder Woman 1984, stating (via Variety):

"As was announced on Wednesday during our earnings and as this Nielsen data shows, ['Wonder Woman 1984'] was a huge holiday gift to the consumer at a time when they wanted and needed it. This partnership with Warner Bros. of course continues throughout the year but it began with Wonder Woman's arrival on Christmas Day to great success."

It's already been reported that Wonder Woman 1984 helped double HBO Max's subscriber base in Q4; the film also dominated social media discussion during its first-week run. So if anything, these newly revised rating numbers make much more sense when compared to the subscriber numbers and trending buzz.

Wonder Woman 1984 was a pivotal release for WarnerMedia and HBO Max, so it's no surprise that Warners pushed to get those numbers looked at again. Wonder Woman 1984 is the first of WarnerMedia's ambitious campaign to release new 2021 movies on HBO Max the same day that they hit theaters. That decision shook up the industry in a big way, as theater chains struggle to survive the continued strain of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These numbers make it look like WarnerMedia may have made the shrewd move with its same-day streaming premieres, as those Wonder Woman 1984 viewing numbers are strong. The film has now been pulled from HBO Max (on January 24th), as part of WarnerMedia's model for this same-day release plan. The idea is that with limited availability, WarnerMedia can force viewers into a tight enough funnel that they generate buzzworthy surges in viewership numbers - so far, the strategy seems to be effective.

No word yet on when Wonder Woman 1984 will be released on Blu-ray and DVD. Zack Snyder's Justice League will arrive on HBO Max on March 18th.