The massive YouTube reach of Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson seems to have translated some to Prime Video.
The Amazon-owned streamer says some 50 million viewers worldwide have watched Beast Games, a competition series co-created and hosted by Donaldson, in its first 25 days of release (which includes the first half of a 10-episode season). Prime Video says the show is its second largest new series debut of 2024, behind Fallout — which hit 65 million viewers over its first 16 days, according to the streamer.
As with other data Amazon has provided about its series, the company doesn’t say whether the 50 million figure is an average viewing figure (a la Nielsen ratings for traditional TV) or the number of people who have watched a few minutes of Beast Games. About half of viewing has come outside the United States, per Amazon.
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The 50 million viewers for Beast Games puts the series ahead of Cross, which Prime Video said reached 40 million viewers worldwide in its first 20 days but didn’t acquire 10 million more by day 25.
Donaldson is one of the biggest YouTube creators in the world, with some 344 million followers for the MrBeast channel. The channel is known for its over-the-top stunts and contests, and that ethos carries over to Beast Games, in which a 1,000 contestants compete for a $5 million prize.
The series is also the subject of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by five contestants who claim they were deprived of medical care, proper food and sleep and endured a “culture of misogyny and sexism” during the production. Sources tell THR the defendants haven’t been served with the suit yet, and that the complaint focuses on a promotional shoot in Las Vegas and not the main production, which took place in Toronto.
Donaldson created Beast Games with Sean Klitzner, Tyler Conklin, and Mack Hopkins. Donaldson, Klitzner and Conklin executive produce alongside Michael Cruz, Matt Apps, Charles Wachter, Keith Geller, Joe Coleman and Rachel Skidmore.
