According to information collected as of August 21, 2022, the opening of “House of the Dragon” reached 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms in the US, which is the highest audience for any new original series in HBO’s history. In addition, the debut was the biggest series launch ever for HBO Max in the US, Latin America, and Europe, bringing in a record-breaking number of concurrent streams on the platform.

The series was also a smash on social media, where fans flooded in droves to celebrate the return to the Game of Thrones world. On the day of its release, “House of the Dragon” was the top trending subject on Google Trends and Twitter for the longest period of time.

Additionally, the first season of “Game of Thrones” just finished its most successful week on the streaming service HBO Max, finishing up a seven-week period of engagement growth week over a week prior to the debut of “House of the Dragon.” August’s Game of Thrones weekly average is about 90% higher than June’s and almost 50% higher than July’s.

“Game of Thrones” gained about 2.22 million viewership for its pilot episode back in 2011, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“House of the Dragon” had its debut on Sky Atlantic and the streaming service NOW on August 22 in the UK. Additionally, all Sky markets, including those in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, offered access to the program.

“It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night. House of the Dragon features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we’re ecstatic with viewers’ positive response,” commented Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO & HBO Max. “We look forward to sharing with audiences what else George, Ryan, and Miguel have in store for them this season.”