Prey, the latest movie in the Predator franchise, has just set two new world records: one on Hulu and one on Disney Plus.
Revealed by 20th Century Studios, the company that produced the sci-fi action-horror film, Prey (be sure to read our spoiler-free Prey review if you haven't already) has become the biggest scoop on Hulu since the streaming service. released in October 2007. This makes Prey the most watched Hulu project of all time, meaning no other movie or TV series can match it.
Not content with breaking that record on Hulu, however, Prey also set a new record for movies on Disney Plus. The Predator prequel film, although director Dan Trachtenberg does not refer to it as such, is the most watched theatrical release on Disney Plus Star, as well as Star Plus in Latin America. Thus, Prey also ranks first in movies on Disney Plus in territories outside of the US.
#PreyMovie is the #1 premiere on @Hulu to date, including all movie and TV series premieres. It is also the most watched movie premiere on Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ under the Star brand in all other territories, based on hours watched in the first 3 days of release. pic.twitter.com/cgB63tf2LlAugust 9, 2022
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As 20th Century Studios' tweet reveals, Prey's runaway success is based on hours watched within three days of its release on August 5. Disney and 20th Century Studios declined to provide official Prey display figures; like most streamers, this data is not publicly available for any projects released by Disney or its affiliates.
Still, Prey's overnight achievement is worthy of applause. The fifth movie in the Predator series faced some serious competition over the weekend (August 5-6), with The Sandman on Netflix, Thirteen Lives on Prime Video, and Luck on Apple TV Plus all releasing at the same time. This data extract therefore proves that he resisted this trio.
Given its popularity, it's only a matter of time before a Prey sequel is greenlit. Speaking exclusively to TechRadar ahead of Prey's release, Trachtenberg teased that he had some "fun ideas" for a follow-up. You can read more about this, and learn more about the development of Prey, and the authentic representation of Comanches and their cultures, in our in-depth Prey interview article.
Analytics: Finding That Essential Streaming Data
As awesome as Prey was on Hulu and Disney Plus, we still don't know how many people actually watched it.
Granted, the fact that it ranks first in different categories on these two streamers is something to celebrate. There's a ton of great content on both platforms, including top-tier Disney Plus movies and other brilliant Hulu movies. Therefore Prey's usurpation of similar projects should not be overlooked.
However, without this all-important viewing data, we cannot determine the success of Prey. How many people broadcast it? Did all the viewers watch it until the end? Were there Hulu or Disney Plus subscribers who watched it more than once last weekend, which would have increased their numbers?
Unfortunately, we will never know. As we mentioned earlier, Disney doesn't provide this data to the public, so we don't know how well Prey did.
Of course, Disney isn't the only studio hiding this information. Amazon Studios does not provide official data either; the company is following in the footsteps of Disney and only tells us when a Prime Video show or movie has taken the top spot in their respective categories.
Less popular streamers like Paramount Plus also don't provide official viewership figures. And neither HBO Max nor Apple TV Plus, with Ben Stiller, creator of Apple TV Plus' hit show Severance, recently telling Decider (opens in a new tab) that it's "really weird" to him that Apple doesn't at least give him These data.
The only streamer that regularly provides public data is Netflix. Even then, the world's largest streaming company only reveals part of this information, namely hours watched, when it updates its internal top 10 lists (opens in a new tab) each week.
Some streaming companies are understandably reluctant to release viewing figures. It would confirm how well (or worse) a new movie or TV series performed, which is not good for a company's image if its projects fail over and over again. Still, the streaming industry needs to be more transparent about its viewership numbers. Fans want to see if their favorite shows did well for a chance at renewal. If streaming companies published this data as well, it would put an end to criticism that they are too secretive organizations. So let's hope that day comes soon.
For more Prey-based coverage, check out how the Predator prequel contains a rare quirk for the film franchise.
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