DC Studios has had a strong few days. The documentary about Superman, Christopher Reeve, is currently showing in select theaters and has achieved perfect scores from both audiences and critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Additionally, the worldwide release of The Penguin, a spinoff of Matt Reeves’ The Batman featuring Robert Pattinson, is also generating buzz.

The Penguin stars Colin Farrell, who reprises his role as Oz Cobb. The show is set about a week after the events of The Batman and delves into the aftermath of the murder of the leader of the Falcone family.

Gotham is currently facing a power vacuum, and Oz is doing everything he can to fill it, all while being watched by Sofia Falcone, who has just been released from Arkham Asylum.

Reactions to the show have been overwhelmingly positive, with fans and critics praising both the cast and the storyline. Some fans even called the pilot “the greatest pilot in TV history.”

According to the latest viewership numbers, HBO has indeed struck gold with this series. Variety reports that The Penguin attracted 5.3 million U.S. viewers across all platforms since its September 19 debut, surpassing the final season premiere of Succession (4.9 million) and the second season premiere of The White Lotus (4.1 million).

It has also garnered the largest 4-day audience for a new series on Max globally since The Last of Us in January 2023.

When compared to other recent high-profile releases, The Penguin ranks as one of the biggest hits. Samba TV reported that 902,000 households watched the premiere of The Rings of Power Season 2, a significant drop from its first season.

However, these figures were later deemed incomplete, as the Head of Amazon MGM Studios clarified that The Rings of Power Season 2 performed far better than initially reported, with the series attracting 40 million viewers over 11 days, averaging about 3.6 million viewers daily.

Meanwhile, HBO’s House of the Dragon Season 2 drew a significantly larger audience, with 7.8 million viewers for its premiere, according to WBD and Nielsen data.

Disney+’s The Acolyte debuted its first two episodes, garnering 4.8 million views within the first 24 hours.

While the viewership numbers for the MCU’s Agatha All Along, which premiered a day before The Penguin, are still unavailable, The Penguin received a much better reception, boasting higher approval ratings on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.

This is fantastic news, especially in the context of Reeves’ Batman universe. As you may know, The Batman and The Penguin exist in a separate cinematic universe from the DCU and are not connected to Gunn’s upcoming projects.

Reeves refers to his universe as The Batman Epic Crime Saga, and following the cancellation of Gotham P.D., it’s exciting to learn that more spinoffs are in development.

The Penguin Episode 2 will be available on HBO Max on Sunday, September 29th, around 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT.

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