MARVEL Studios may undoubtedly dominate the superhero genre on the big screen due to a lack of competition, but Amazon Prime now clearly wears television’s superhero crown as The Boys was declared 2022’s most popular superhero show.
According to the Nielsen ratings, audiences watched 10.6 billion minutes of Amazon Prime’s The Boys, the 11th most-watched original streaming show of 2022.
Taking the top spot on the list is Netflix’s Stranger Things with 52 billion minutes watched, followed by fellow Netflix shows Ozark (31.3 billion), Wednesday (18.6 billion), Cobra Kai (16.7 billion) and Bridgerton (14 billion) to round out the top five. Netflix dominates Nielsen’s list of top 15 streaming originals, taking 13 spots.
Amazon Prime’s The Boys and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are the only non-Netflix properties on the list.
Over at Disney+, the streamer’s superhero shows failed to crack the top 15 original streaming series for 2022. The platform released Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law last year, none of which were able to secure a spot on Nielsen’s list.
This is despite Rotten Tomatoes crowning Ms. Marvel 2022’s best-reviewed superhero show, and the viral elements that came from each episode of She-Hulk.
The last time a Marvel show made Nielsen’s end-of-the year list was in 2021 when WandaVision placed 14th with 7.3 billion minutes watched.
Call it audiences – or television audiences – having superhero fatigue due to the oversaturation, but the shift of attention and interest towards The Boys makes sense; it’s far more mature, a parody of mainstream superhero media, a satire of politics and corporations, and does not take itself seriously.
The third season of The Boys, which saw the introduction of Jensen Ackles to an already strong cast, was lauded by critics and fans. It’s success has led to Amazon ordering a spin-off, Gen-V, which will be set concurrently with the fourth season.
Season 4 of The Boys is currently in production at Amazon Prime, with Simon Pegg recently announcing that he has concluded filming his scenes for the fourth season.
In the meantime, fans can stream the first three seasons of The Boys on Amazon Prime.