Streaming TV Ratings, Dec. 18-24, 2023

Walker Scobell in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians.’

Disney/David Bukach

The streaming gods have smiled on Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

The Disney+ series based on author Rick Riordan’s best-selling books opened to a good-sized audience in the week before Christmas. The first two episodes, which debuted the evening of Dec. 19, drew about 572 million minutes of watch time, according to Nielsen’s streaming ratings. With a combined run time of 80 minutes, that works out to about 7.15 million complete runs (or “views” as currently defined by much of the industry) of the two episodes in the United States.

Disney had earlier said that the first episode had earned 13.3 million views worldwide — equivalent to a little more than 505 million minutes — over its first six days. The Nielsen figures for the premiere put Percy Jackson ahead of Disney+’s last two Marvel premieres, Secret Invasion (461 million minutes) and season two of Loki (446 million), in total viewing time.

Prime Video’s Reacher moved up to the overall No. 1 ranking for Dec. 18-24 after finishing second the previous week, racking up 1.45 billion minutes of viewing for the week its fourth episode of season two debuted. Its total was revised up from 1.18 billion minutes after Nielsen corrected a problem with audio asset capture on Prime Video.

Young Sheldon was close behind with 1.41 billion minutes of viewing on Max and (mostly) Netflix. The prior week’s No. 1, Netflix’s movie Leave the World Behind, dropped by about 50 percent to 983 million minutes. Zack Snyder’s movie Rebel Moon: Part 1 debuted with 890 million minutes on Netflix (revised from an earlier figure of 966 million) — a little below his 2021 film Army of the Dead, which had 913 million minutes for its first week. Several Christmas movies, led by Elf (862 million minutes) and Home Alone (836 million), also surged.

The 572 million minutes for Percy Jackson were good for fourth place among original series for Dec. 18-24. The Crown (1.14 billion minutes) also crested the billion-minute mark for the second week in a row, while Netflix’s My Life With the Walter Boys (708 million) fell from that perch, dropping about 36 percent in its third week.

Peacock’s anthology drama Dr. Death made its chart debut for the week of its second season premiere, drawing 302 million minutes of viewing.

Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure U.S. audiences, not those in other countries. The top streaming titles for Dec. 18-24 are below.

Overall

1. Reacher (Prime Video), 1.45 billion minutes viewed
2. Young Sheldon (Max/Netflix), 1.41 billion
3. The Crown (Netflix), 1.14 billion
4. Leave the World Behind (Netflix), 983 million
5. Bluey (Disney+), 925 million
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 908 million
7. Rebel Moon: Part 1 (Netflix), 890 million
8. Elf (Hulu/Max), 862 million
9. Home Alone (Disney+), 836 million
10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Netflix), 730 million

Original Series

1. Reacher, 1.18 billion minutes
2. The Crown, 1.14 billion
3. My Life With the Walter Boys (Netflix), 708 million
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+), 572 million
5. Obliterated (Netflix), 382 million
6. Car Masters: Rust to Riches (Netflix), 345 million
6 (tie). School Spirits (Netflix/Paramount+), 345 million
8. Dr. Death (Peacock), 302 million
9. Virgin River (Netflix), 262 million
10. Gabby’s Dollhouse (Netflix), 251 million

Acquired Series

1. Young Sheldon, 1.41 billion minutes
2. Bluey, 925 million
3. Grey’s Anatomy, 908 million
4. NCIS (Netflix/Paramount+), 698 million
5. Suits (Netflix/Peacock), 659 million
6. The Big Bang Theory (Max), 592 million
7. Cocomelon (Netflix), 521 million
8. Friends (Max), 479 million
9. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 463 million
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Paramount+/Prime Video), 440 million

Movies

1. Leave the World Behind, 983 million minutes
2. Rebel Moon: Part 1, 890 million
3. Elf, 862 million
4. Home Alone, 836 million
5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, 730 million
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) (Peacock), 700 million
7. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Hulu/Max), 649 million
8. The Grinch (2018) (Peacock), 632 million
9. Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video), 597 million
10. Gran Turismo (Netflix), 577 million