Prime Video's Fallout Has Scored A Huge First For A Non-Netflix Series

Audiences can't stop watching Prime Video's "Fallout." The series, based on the iconic Bethesda video game franchise of the same name, debuted in early April to considerable acclaim from critics, and the post-apocalyptic show's immediate success led to "Fallout" receiving a second season order just over a week after its release. With the help of Nielsen, we know just how beloved the show is. When the series debuted, it charted No. 1 on Nielsen's rankings with 2.9 billion minutes viewed. That billion-minute number was a record for Prime Video, making "Fallout" one of the streamer's biggest hits. The next week (April 15), the series racked up another 2.62 billion minutes of watch time, making it the first program not released on Netflix to garner over 2 billion views in its second week since Nielsen began tracking streamers.

The data confirms two things: "Fallout" is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, and Netflix is starting to have some serious competition from other streamers. Netflix has long been the undisputed champion of the streaming world, releasing recent hits like "Baby Reindeer," "3 Body Problem," and "The Gentlemen" — in fact, all three of these Netflix programs were ranked on the same list as "Fallout."  But as popular as those series are, none have proved to be as massive as "Fallout," which Amazon says is one of its most-watched titles ever. Netflix should clearly feel some sort of pressure from "Fallout" breaking the 2 billion views barrier two weeks in a row.

Netflix was the first major player on the streaming block, giving it a head start in the industry. To date, the company has some 270 million subscribers around the world. Globally, that makes Netflix the streaming service with the most subscribers. Because of the number of viewers attached to the service, it's natural that its high-profile projects are typically the only ones that amass over 2-billion minutes watched over several weeks.

Prime Video, however, isn't far behind, as the streaming service had 200 million subscribers in 2021. Since then, the company hasn't reported how many subscribers it has. It is, however, fair to assume that the number has only grown, perhaps to the same level as the industry leader, which is probably why "Fallout" is able to hit Netflix-level viewing numbers. While the streaming wars continue to wage on, Amazon must no doubt be pleased that "Fallout" is making consistent waves.

Right now, we're in a golden age of video game adaptations, with "The Last of Us" and "Twisted Metal" emerging as hits. That, plus the success of "Fallout," continues to solidify that video game adaptations can be immensely popular if done right. With the upcoming second season of "Fallout," fans can expect the debut of Deathclaws, confirming that the show's creatives are going deep into franchise lore. The success of the program also shows that Amazon's streaming service is quickly becoming a major competitor to Netflix, but at this point, unlike the original streamer which has tons of spots on Nielsen's most-watched lists, Prime Video has just one project: "Fallout."