Reportedly, the Moon Knight series premiere is the second-highest viewership of any MCU Disney+ show star, with Falcon & Winter Soldier pegging.
Moon Knight was the second-highest viewership in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+. Announced in 2019 at D23, Moon Knight is Marvel Studios' fifth live-action series for Disney's streaming service, but it's the first to follow a new MCU character. Previous shows had known characters such as Scarlet Witch, Falcon, Loki, and Hawkeye. However, Oscar Isaac now plays Mark Spector/Stephen Grant, a man with dissociative identity disorder who believes he has powers from the Egyptian moon god Khuncho. As Moon Knight marks Isaac's debut in the MCU as the starring protagonist, it's become a new test for Marvel Studios to see how audiences will respond to an Origin Story on Disney+.
Only one out of six episodes have been released so far, but Moon Knight is another successful Marvel Studios episode early on. The series was recently credited with Rotten Tomatoes by 87% of critics, while audiences like the series more - as evidenced by its 94% new audience score. This comes after the first episode of Moon Knight focused mainly on Steven Grant's identity to add to the mystery of who Marc Spector is, and how he is related to Khoncho and Moon Knight's powers. Although Moon Knight is a fan-favorite character in the comics, he's not very well known in general pop culture - but that hasn't stopped his show from doing well.
According to data published by Samba TV, 1.8 million households watched the first episode of Moon Knight in the United States within the first five days of broadcasting. Samba collects data from 3 million eligible families to experience how popular shows and movies are on streaming services. Viewers of Moon Knight Episode 1's 1.8M linked The Falcon and Winter Soldier in the second highest-grossing debut on the MCU Disney+ show. Both shows still lag behind Loki's impressive 2.5 million appearances but beat out WandaVision and Hawkeye, who had 1.6 million and 1.5 million viewers. The third-party data is just a sample of Moon Knight viewership and is not official figures announced by Disney or Marvel.
Although Disney+ has millions of additional subscribers at this point, it's still impressive that Moon Knight's viewership is so high. All other MCU Disney+ shows feature well-known Marvel characters and actors. This is why Loki being the most-watched Disney+ show in the MCU comes as no surprise, as the god of mischief Tom Hiddleston is one of the most popular characters in the franchise. Moon Knight is the other end of the spectrum, starring a character unknown to most people but bolstered by a unique tone and Oscar Isaac's groundbreaking performance.
Moon Knight's high viewership numbers should be an encouraging sign for Marvel Studios, especially based on the 2022 Disney+ slate. The only other confirmed shows for 2022 are Mrs. Marvel and She-Hulk, who are also brand-new MCU characters. These shows could have some extra Marvel star power that Moon Knight doesn't have, but that doesn't change that they're new to most audiences. Now, it would be great to see if the show can continue that strong start and maybe even build its audience as the weeks go on.