What started off as a guilty pleasure has since become a worldwide phenomenon. Syfy’s follow-up to the ultra-campy “Sharknado”—this time titled “Sharknado 2: The Second One—was a huge ratings victory for the network when it aired on Wednesday night, despite reveling in its low quality.
According to Bloomburg Businessweek, “Sharknado 2” was viewed by 3.9 million viewers on Wednesday night, which makes it Syfy’s most-watched original movie ever. This audience number is up from the original’s 1.37 million viewers.
Almost as impressive was the social media presence of “Sharknado 2.” There were 581,000 tweets about the campy horror flick, and Nielsen estimates that 5.5 million people saw at least one of those tweets. The awareness for “Sharknado 2” was gigantic, helping the movie become a big win for the network.
As expected, the movie didn’t exactly endear itself to critics. Over at MetaCritic—a website that aggregates movie review scores into a total average—“Sharknado 2” scored a 50. While hardly the worst score imaginable, it seems that some folks still can’t deal with the prospect of a tornado made of sharks terrorizing Manhattan.
Helpful hint: if you’re settling down for a nice quiet evening with “Sharknado,” leave all good taste at the door. And speaking of taste, the video link attached to this tweet from the official “Sharknado 2” Twitter account says it all:
Ever seen a shark sliced in half? Well here’s your chance, enjoy! #Sharknado2 https://t.co/jSh7Wp4TES
— Sharknado (@SharknadoSyfy) July 31, 2014
Starring Tara Reid and Ian Ziering, “Sharknado 2” tells the story of a tornado made up of sharks that attacks New York. If you missed the initial airing, or need to watch it again to fully understand the intricacies of the plot, Syfy is also showing the movie on Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. EST and 9:00 p.m. EST respectively.
WIth the success of the sequel, don't be surprised if more "Sharknado" movies are announced soon. Maybe our dream of seeing "Bride of Sharknado" is in the cards after all.
