'Lanterns' Episode 7 Draws 7 Million U.S. Viewers in Three Days

Episode 7 of "Lanterns" reached 7 million viewers in the U.S. within its first three days of availability, according to figures combining Nielsen's measurement of linear viewers on HBO's cable channel with streams on HBO Max.

The DC Universe series has averaged above 12 million viewers per episode in the U.S. to date, and nearly 19 million per episode when international viewing is counted. HBO did not provide a global tally for Episode 7 specifically.

Those averages are likely to keep rising. HBO's most comparable recent series, "It: Welcome to Derry," drew 6.5 million U.S. viewers in three days with its most-watched episode — slightly fewer than the latest "Lanterns" figure — and went on to average 19.7 million viewers globally.

The numbers place "Lanterns" in the company of HBO's other current tentpoles. "Euphoria" hit 8.7 million global viewers in three days with its Season 3 finale, when the series was averaging 25 million per episode. "The Pitt" closed its second season with 9.7 million U.S. finale viewers and a season average of 15.4 million. "The Penguin," HBO's previous DC series, finished its 2024 run averaging more than 27 million viewers per episode.

"Lanterns" is still adding audience late in its run. Some 1.5 million new viewers watched the series premiere within the last week, signaling sustained word-of-mouth growth rather than a launch spike followed by decline.

The series finale arrives this Sunday, giving the show one more high-profile data point — and HBO one more test of whether its DC slate can approach the 27 million-episode benchmark set by "The Penguin."